Revenge
by XxPikaSixJoyxX
Summary: Seth Rollins' betrayal of The Shield shocked the entire WWE Universe but what if there was a lot more to it that what was seen on TV? What if, for The Architect, he had meant do to what he did? This is more than just a betrayal. This is Revenge. Part of the Seven Deadly Sins series.
1. Adapt or Perish

**AN: Hey guys! PikaSixJoy here with a brand new story. It's the first story I've done from a, I guess, a villain's POV.**

**This is going to be part of the Seven Deadly Sins series featuring a number of stories by my closest friends so be sure to check out RonTheRonin's 'Pride', 'Envy' by MellyxBrooks, 'Insanity' by Cody'sxFavouritexGirl and 'Temptation' by xeloquentangelx for the full series. **

**Here's chapter one!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with WWE or any Superstar/Diva used except any OC's if any are used. **

**Chapter One**

_Adapt or Perish. _

Those words had stayed with the youngest member of The Shield since Triple H had delivered them to the world with another great promo. If there was one thing Seth Rollins could give Hunter credit for, it was his promos. He wasn't called the King of Kings for nothing. Whether he was talking to John Cena or Stone Cold or even Vickie Guerrero, he always hit the spot with whatever point he had to make, personal or business wise, and the speech he had given at the last Raw before Extreme Rules was no different. Usually, the two-toned Davenport native didn't pay much attention to the promos the COO felt so inclined to deliver week in and week out. To him, they pretty much said the same thing. But the latest one had stuck with him, for reasons that still remained unknown. Whatever the reason, it had forced Seth to re-evaluate his current position. Where did he currently stand within the group who had dominated the WWE since their debut back in 2013. They had Slammy awards, title and PPV wins under their vests. They had taken out Evolution, one of the greatest stables in the history WWE, not once but twice, and it seemed like they couldn't be in ap better place right now. The WWE Universe loved them, but Seth couldn't help but feel like something was missing. He just couldn't just picture what.

As he sat and tried to unlock his brain, it hit him. He felt used. Used like a plastic bag and thrown into the waste. He had carried them, leaded them, guided them to where they were and not once in the last year and a half had either Dean or Roman thought to thank him. It got his blood boiling just thinking about it and it wasn't until The Shield's match at Elimination Chamber did it really hit the young wrestler. The match was a going well until Dean and Bray had started brawling in the crowd, everything from there in effectively went downhill. Only leader of WWE's rising family returned and Dean was nowhere to be seen handicap match, and as powerful and as skilled as Roman and Seth were they couldn't handle the power of 3 beefy men. First they took Seth out with double chokeslam through to the announce table leaving The Architect in a state that, by the time he had come around from, would be too late to do anything. With Dean gone and Seth out for the count, the Wyatt's turned to the powerhouse that was Roman Reigns. The anticipation of the crowd watching as the Wyatt's surrounded the ring whilst Roman stood alone in the middle of the squared circle left members of the WWE Universe unable to watch. Some were clenching the edge of their seats so hard their fingers were aching while others couldn't move because of the anticipation. It was electric.

Two forearm smashes and a Samoan Drop later, it looked as though the rising star had the upper hand. That was until Bray, out of nowhere, took all the momentum Roman had with a running shoulder block and the once roaring crowd were now silent as they watched the Wyatt's continue their beat down of The Shield's most famed member. Roman somehow managed to find the strength to stand after a spinning clothesline from Harper which gave the crowd the slightest amount of hope, but in true Wyatt fashion, Bray ended any chance of Roman recovering with a harsh boot to the face which silenced the crowd for a second time.

"This is the end!", Bray screamed as he kissed Roman's head and ended the match with a Sister Abigail.

Yet, something in Roman told him to fight, to hold on and he did exactly that. Throwing Bray into Harper, Roman found the strength and dug deep to fight back and do what he could, but it just wasn't enough. He lost sight of Bray and that was what cost him. Bray took Roman out with the Sister Abigail and three seconds later, the world knew that the Wyatt's had done what they had set out to do. Take out the Hounds of Justice.

* * *

><p>Seth burst into the dressing room and threw his vest on across the floor. He sighed and rested both his hands on the table and closed his eyes. The Shield had suffered one of their worst defeats since they had debuted. Dean had disappeared leaving his teammates to endure a beat down from the Wyatt Family. Roman, being the toughest of the group, tried to regain some of their composure and put up a good fight but in the end it just wasn't enough.<br>"Tough match", Roman said, resting a comforting hand as he passed Seth.  
>All Seth could do was nod. He was waiting for Dean to get back and figure out why he had disappeared during their match. Not to mention, the pain he had endured after being taken down by a hillbilly version of Luigi and man in sheep mask. His back was hurting, his arms were aching, his legs were struggling to hold his weight and he had only endured a fraction of what Roman had. At least, their pain was pretty much on the same scale. Seth spun and caught eyes with Dean as he entered the room, hand rubbing the back of his head.<br>"Look, you guys, I told you, I brawled into the crowd and somebody knocked me out in the back of the head with something metal."

Seth's eye raged as he listened to Dean's excuse for ditching them during their match. He couldn't believe the crap spewing from Dean's mouth.

"That's bullshit and you know it man, I'm not buying it one bit!", Seth snapped immediately, "You got knocked out way worse in Dragon Gate and the indies so why are you, all of a sudden, complaining about it?"

"You wanna take the shot I did, huh Seth? You wanna know what it feels like?", Dean snapped, his wet hair flying around as he turned his attention to Roman, who hadn't said a word, "You wanna say something to my face, big man?"

Roman didn't need to say anything the tension and atmosphere between the three already said enough. Dean looked over at Seth who held his stare, glaring down the man he saw as his brother. Seth's fists clenched as he tried to hold himself back from launching himself at him. He was angry and that was something he had made clear. Roman stood there and watched as his two friends stood a few metres apart. The Samoan Thor thought for a moment. Was this Bray Wyatt's true goal? Was this the creation of something people had said was already a problem between The Shield? What was the point of saying anything and adding fuel to the fire? He was just as pissed with Dean as Seth was and his story sounded like bullshit but there was no point in fighting about it. It wasn't going to make anything better.

"You know what, screw this I'm outta here", Dean said after a moment's silence before grabbing his bag and heading for the exit leaving Roman and Seth alone.

Neither Roman or Seth said anything to each other. What was the point? Enough had already been said. It wasn't as if they had a problem with each other as the two were clearly on the same page, or at least it seemed that way.

"See you tomorrow man", Seth parted with no intentions of looking back.

Seth heard Roman sigh and a part of him sighed with him. He could feel the pain Roman was going through, the majority of it was physical but quite a lot of it was mental. As Seth made his way back down the hall, a small woman skipped past him, her Dark Brown hair whipping his cheek as she passed. Seth turned and watched AJ as she headed into the dressing room and he frowned. What business did AJ Lee, of all the Divas, have with Roman Reigns? Pushing the thought aside Seth headed down the hall and out into the car park. The journey alone gave him time to think. A lot had happened tonight, a lot of it was still sinking in but one thing was clear. The Shield wasn't going to be the same.

* * *

><p>Seth ran a hand through his wet hair and pulled it back into its usual style. One last glance at the locker in the changing rooms and he was ready to go. He had just finished a two hour workout in the gym. He felt like he needed let off some steam…okay, a LOT of steam. Dean's disappearance during their match Sunday night had gotten to him, yet at the same time he felt like maybe Dean was telling the truth. He knew that man was crazy but, surely he wouldn't make up a lie like that. Would he? It frustrated Seth so much that he had turned up to the gym 10 minutes before it even opened, and he never did that. Pulling out his phone, Seth sat down on a bench just behind him and dialled Roman's number.<p>

"Listen, I have an idea", Seth said before Roman even got the chance to say 'hello'.

"Right…", Roman replied, the confusion clear in his voice.

Seth gave a light smile and took a moment to figure out the best way to phrase what he wanted to say. He could tell Roman was surprised by Seth's call, to be honest, Seth was as well. He hadn't spoken to Dean or Roman all week, he was still too angry about being put through an announce table by Harper and Rowan, he had spent the first two days of the week tucked up in bed but what happened during that match had been on his mind for a long while.

"I was thinking we meet up before Smackdown, get ourselves back on the right page, if you get what I mean", Seth suggested.

The silence on the other end made Seth's stomach drop. He wondered if Roman would even agree to such a suggestion. The longer he waited, the more Seth began to wonder if Roman was still on the phone. The Authority had done one thing and that was change the focus point of The Shield on its head. Instead of thinking how to take down The Authority and getting payback on the Wyatt's, they were now at leatherheads. Perhaps it was time? They had been together for so long, that maybe it was time to go their separate ways. Seth quickly shook the thought out of his head as he knew what it would mean. The breakup of one of the most, if not THE most dominant stable in the history of the WWE, and Seth, as much as he was looking forward to that day, couldn't allow the group to break up on these terms.

"Roman?", Seth asked, after no reply.

"Okay", was the reply, confusing the peacekeeper of The Shield.

"Huh?"

"I said okay."

Seth smiled and quickly gave Roman the details and the time and a place. He decided to call Dean and got halfway through dialling the man's number before cancelling the call. He still hadn't calmed down enough to speak to him yet. That was something that was just going to wait.

_Meet outside the Toyota Centre before Smackdown. Need to talk. Seth. _

He figured being blunt and simple was better; after all, it was Dean's style. Simple and effective. Whether he turned up, however, was a different matter entirely.

Seth picked up his bag and headed for the lobby. As he reached the reception, he spotted someone standing at the vending machine and sighed. Dave Batista picked up a Coke from the bottom draw and opened it. He turned and adjusted his glasses.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is", Batista said, taking a swig.

Seth sighed and carried on walking. He had nothing to say to them, he had other things on his mind. He reached for the main doors and Randy put a hand of the glass, pushing it shut.

"We need to talk", he said.

Seth looked at the Viper and frowned.

"We don't need to do anything", he replied, "Anything we have to say to each other can be and will be said in the ring."

Seth reached for the other door but Batista leaned against the glass, blocking Seth in. They were trying to intimidate him. Scare him so that he'd comply with whatever they demanded from him. Whatever that was Seth wasn't in the mood to find out.

"If anything", he continued, "That's the only time we're ever going to talk to each other. Until then get out of my way."

Randy looked at Batista and laughed. He wasn't going to let an NXT rookie talk to him like that. He was the "Face of the WWE" and there was no way in hell he was going to let Seth Rollins, of all people, end this conversation.

"This conversation ends when we say it does", Randy told him, Batista nodding in agreement.

Seth took a step back, he could see where this was going and he couldn't be bothered to deal with these two goofs right now. Just as he went to open his mouth another voice beat him to it.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but this looks like you two are ganging up on "little old Seth" here."

The three men turned to see none other than Divas champion Paige standing behind them, arms folded. Seth rolled his eyes and sighed. It was moments like this that made people think he was the 'baby' of The Shield. When, in fact, he was the complete opposite.

"And what if we are?", Batista huffed, clearly annoyed with Paige's interruption.

"Well if that's the case", Paige smiled as she pulled out her phone, "You won't mind me calling the cops and getting you arrested for assault then."

Randy smirked and headed over to young Brit and stopped right in front of her.

"You wouldn't dare", Randy threatened.

"Oh, I would. You don't scare me Orton and neither does your skinny jeans friend over there", Paige told him, gesturing to Batista who went to move.

Randy held up his hand for Dave to stop and held Paige's gaze before taking a few steps back. He turned and headed over to Seth, leaning towards his ear.

"This isn't over", he said before heading up past the receptionist.

"You're one lucky kid", Batista said, shoving Seth out of his way.

Paige waited until Triple H's lackeys were out of sight before heading over to Seth.

"You okay?", she asked to which Seth nodded.

"I was fine, Paige", Seth snapped, yanking the door open in frustration.

"You're welcome", Paige joked, shaking her head and heading out into the street.

By the time Paige had caught up with Seth, he was sitting on a bench, with his head in his hands.

"Something on your mind?"

"You could say that, yeah", Seth told her, as Paige sat down next to him.

He figured it was better to be vague rather than spill his guts out. He couldn't have anyone else involved. His main priority right now was repairing the broken bonds within The Shield, having to worry about anyone else was something he couldn't afford to have on his mind right now. Paige could read Seth like a book, she had been able to ever since their days back in FCW. They had become quite good friends and had remained so even after they both were drafted to NXT. So she could tell when he wasn't telling her everything.

"Alright, I can see you're not going to tell me, but whatever it is, fix it soon, Seth. Because if Evolution find out they won't stop until the entire world knows about it and once that happens you c-"  
>Seth's phone beeped and pulled it out to see he had a text message.<p>

_Fine._

Despite only get a one-word answer from Dean, Seth couldn't help but smile. It gave him a small amount of hope that maybe; just maybe, this meeting was going to go the way Seth had thought.

**AN: Hope you enjoyed the first chatper. More to come soon, please review and favourite as it really helps out. Be sure to check out RonTheRonin's 'Pride', 'Envy' by MellyxBrooks, 'Insanity' by Cody'sxFavouritexGirl and 'Temptation' by xeloquentangelx for the full Deadly Sins experience. Also feel free to check out my other stories as well. See you next chapter! xx PikaSixJoy xx**


	2. Is That So Hard To Ask For?

**AN: PikaSixJoy here, with another chapter. Thanks to all those who reviewed the first chapter. This chapter took me a while because I got slightly confused, but I'm back on the ball and here we are with chapter two. **

**Enjoy!**

**Toyota Centre before Smackdown**

Seth leant against the bonnet of his rental and glanced at his watch for the third time. He had been waiting in the car park of the centre for the last twenty minutes. For some reason, the Shield member had decided to turn up early. Something he put down to his anticipation of hoping this meeting would go well. Roman turned up a few minutes later and the two greeted each other with a handshake. It made the meeting feel more like a business meeting in which one of them was going to be fired, which thankfully, wasn't the case. Dean turned up a couple of minutes after Roman the Hounds of Justice stood in silence. The tension rose and soon enough they found themselves feeling the most uncomfortable the three of them had ever felt around each other since being brought together. Roman was leaning against a column that held up the level above them, Dean was rocking back and forth of his toes, his usual stance. Seth wasn't sure if he wanted to start, but he figured that maybe he better let Roman do it. The scene reminded Seth of a scene in a movie when the main character of a Western movie arrived at new town for the first time, and he thought those were awkward.

"So are one of you going to start talking to break the silence, or do I have to everything around here?", Dean asked, causing Seth to roll his eyes.

He could tell that Dean was still angry and while he could understand, surely Dean had to see how this looked. None of what happened made any sense, all Roman and Seth had to go was what Dean had told them and even though it had been 5 days on since it had happened, they still hadn't spoken about how much of Dean's story they believed. Not to mention Seth's walkout during their re-match on Raw that Monday. Of course, Seth had to answer for that, something which he had explained in a phone call to Roman the day he had arranged this meeting. He was still angry with Dean's 'disappearance', something he still wasn't sure whether he believed or not, and figured that the only way to get Dean to understand would be to do the same he had done to them.

"Man, when are you gonna learn?", Roman asked, his voice as calm as usual, "This has been a team thing since day one and, yet, here you are spotlighting yourself once more."

"You're one to talk, big guy. You just _**had**_ to go and make the show about yourself, huh? Remember Survivors Series?", The Lunatic Fringe retorted in an attempt to antagonize Roman.

"_Here we go",_ Seth thought to himself as Dean grimaced.

"Or does the Royal Rumble ring even more of a bell? Flexing your muscle like cousin Dwayne", Dean added.

That did it. Roman pushed himself off the column he was leaning against and reached Dean in two full strides. The two wrestlers were face-to-face, nose-to-nose and Seth sighed, this is exactly what he didn't want. They had to get back on the same page or else this was going to be the end of them here.

"Don't disrespect my family like that. Last I remember, at Survivor Series you were the first eliminated. Then at the Royal Rumble, you tried to eliminate but I fixed that problem real quick. And if you still got a problem, then we can settle that issue right here, right now."

Seth stood up as Dean's fists clenched and the two of them looked ready to fight. He knew if he didn't do something in the next three seconds, one of them was going to end up on top of the car bonnet he had been leaning against.

"Would you two knock it off? We need to get back on the same page show some damn unity. Is that so hard to do?"

Normally, the answer to that question was pretty obvious but now, it seemed that wasn't the case.

"Sometimes I wonder why I associate myself with you two egotists, I swear", Seth mumbled after neither Dean or Roman replied.

"Well, if we didn't have such spotlight hoggers, we wouldn't be in this position Sethy boy", Dean smirked causing peacekeeper Seth, as they sometimes called him, to roll his eyes.

He hated that nickname for it. It made feel like a 16 year old kid, as if he needed more reminding how 'valued' he was by the two of them.

"Well Dean, it's not my fault I'm on the most popular Shield member", Roman chuckled.

And there it was the one thing Seth had been waiting to hear since he had called this meeting. Although, he was surprised that it had come from the horse's mouth himself. He bit his bottom lip to stop himself from asking "Where do I fit in all this?" and he felt a small amount of blood rush into his mouth. This wasn't getting them anywhere.

"Enough you two! Enough of this bull!", Seth shrieked, causing Roman and Dean to look at him and frown.

He quickly reminded them of how they were the most unstoppable force the WWE had ever seen and that they were the Hounds of Justice and before they knew it, the three of them were standing in the middle of the car park, fists together and just like that The Shield were back on the same page. But even after the meeting and now that they were figuring out the next step in Operation '_Abolish the Authority_ , as Seth liked to call it, The Davenport native couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Something wasn't there anymore. If not for Seth, this meeting wouldn't have happened and the three of them would probably have never spoken again. He had to admit, he was a little surprised. He didn't think Roman would have believed his story, because it was only partly true. He wanted them to see that he was the glue of The Shield and how things would just fall apart without him. Even now as he headed into the centre with Dean at his side, Seth felt unappreciated, even more so than before all of this crap had happened. All he was after was one simple 'thank you', was that so hard to ask for?

* * *

><p>"Do you want anything from catering?", Seth asked after he and Dean had discussed match strategy for their upcoming Fatal 4-Way.<p>

The Lunatic Fringe shook his head and kept his eyes on the screen which was streaming a match between Rusev and Damien Sandow, who this week had decided to dress up as Ronald McDonald.

"Look at this goof!", Dean snapped, "can you believe he was once the Intellectual Saviour of the Masses", they both said in unison.

Seth shook his head because he couldn't believe it. Sandow was one of the rising stars and here he was only a few months later dressing up as the Face of McDonalds, someone nobody actually cares about anymore. The one thing Seth or Dean couldn't seem to grasp was what he had done to deserve this. If he had disrespected The Authority or injured a top star then in a way, it was understandable, but the fact was he hadn't. Seth shrugged and headed out into the corridor and down to the catering area. The slow walk gave him time to think. Something he had done a lot of these past few days. Despite The Shield now being back on the same page, yet again, something felt odd to the young star. Roman and Dean had come so close to beating the heck out of each other and if not for Seth, they'd have ended up being stretched out of the car park. But then there was something else that was on his mind. Someone else he hadn't seen for quite a while.

"Last minute snack?", Sasha Banks asked, joining Seth at the table filled with food.

"You know me, Sash, just stocking up on the reserves", Seth smiled.

"Well", Sasha smiled, taking a hold of Seth's bicep, "The reserves seem pretty stocked up to me."

Seth let out a cool laugh, something he hadn't done in a while and he had to admit, it felt good. The two friends continued to pile food on their plates before heading to a table at the back of the area.

"Talk to Seth", Sasha said softly.

"Hmm?", Seth replied, raising his head to meet her eyes.

Sasha put down her fork and placed a comforting hand on Seth's forearm. The Archtiect gave a light smile and closed his eyes. He couldn't tell Sasha what had happened earlier, he couldn't tell anyone. He didn't see the point. He would have been proving people right.

"What is it?"

"Nothing", he lied, knowing full well Sasha was going to call him out on it.

Pulling her chair closer to her friend, Sasha leaned forward and placed her hand on Seth's cheek, pulling him towards her. She knew him too well. The glisten that was usually in his eyes had gone. They had known each other long enough they read each other like books. Something was wrong.

"Come on, Seth, you know you can't fool me", Sasha told him, "Plus you've got that look."

Seth leaned back from the woman he had once called his girlfriend and frowned.

"What look?", he asked, raising one eyebrow.

Sasha laughed and shook her head. There was no point in battling with him, she could tell her was avoiding the chance of having to talk. She was just going to have to get it out of him another time. The NXT Diva turned to look at the screen behind them before returning her focus to the man opposite her.

"You should go, your match is next, isn't it?"

Seth nodded and took a deep breath, forcing all problems out of his mind and thinking of nothing but the strategy he had planned with Dean for their Fatal 4-Way.

"Hey", Sasha called as Seth started to make his way down the corridor, "Good luck out there, and be careful, alright?"

Seth turned and headed back over to the young Diva, he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and leaned towards her.

"You can bank on it", he whispered before leaving her to register what had happened.

* * *

><p><strong>Fatal 4-Way Tag Team #1 Contender's Match<strong>

"Come on, Dean!", Seth shouted as Dean struggled to make his way across the mat towards him.

Roman stood at ringside watching his teammate and feeling helpless, but he knew that Dean could handle himself. Other than Dean and Seth, there was 3MB Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal had decided to take on the challenge while Heath Slater was at ringside, the recently formed team of Ryback and Curtis Axel, who were now known as RybAxel, a name that sounded just as a bad as the team themselves. The toughest of the three were The Real Americans, Jack Swagger was standing on the apron while the very opinionated Zeb Colter stood just behind them, with a look as if he wanted Antionio Cesaro to crush Dean to pieces, which he seemed to be doing quite well. The Lunatic Fringe was holding his side, feeling the pain of a fierce backbreaker Cesaro had hit him with. Seth was reaching over as far as the tag line would allow him, desperate for a tag.

"Come on, Dean!", Seth repeated, tapping his foot with anticipation.

The crowd had already broken out into a "Hounds of Justice" chant so it was clear who they wanted to win. It seemed as though the odds were heavily stacked against The Shield, but in fairness, they had overcome worse so to this was nothing. Roman still couldn't seem to understand why Kane, WWE's latest sell-out, had decided to book them in such a match, but as the match went on, it began to make sense. The three teams focus was Dean, interfering with every chance he had to make a tag, wearing him down, but the one thing that had confused both Roman and Seth was the constant mocking towards Dean's tag partner. And with each dig, Seth could feel the fire burn inside of him. With every tag that was made, the more Seth wanted to prove to them he wasn't the weak link, that if anyone, it was the man lying in pain in the middle of the ring. He needed his chance to show he wasn't just the baby of the group. And a few seconds later, he got that chance. Dean slapped his hand and Seth, leapt over the top rope and took Cesaro out with a hard clothesline. He turned and punched Swagger, who fell on top of Zeb Colter, knocking the man out.

Curtis Axel headed into the ring, to which Seth threw him back into Ryback who fell and hit the barricade behind him. The crowd were on their feet, some cheering his name, others joining in with a "This is awesome" chant which had broken out. Just as he went to hit The Blackout, Heath Slater decided to intervene and tripped Seth up, by pulling his feet from underneath him.

"3MB bab-"

His celebration was cut short by a Spear from Roman, only for the Samoan powerhouse to be blindsided with a boot to the face by Kane, and his two new 'bodyguards', the New Age Outlaws. The two had pinned Roman down to his knees and before Seth could do anything, he was hit with a Neutralizer by Cesaro, which did exactly as the name said. The Architect rolled over in pain as it seared through his ribs and he glanced over at Roman to see him rolled into the ring by Kane, who slid under the rope with a look that told Seth what was coming next. Just as Ryback put Dean through a Shellshock, Roman scrambled to his feet. Road Dogg hit Dean, who had used the turnbuckle to pull himself up, with a Pumphandle Slam as Seth used the last of his energy to bring himself to standing. He looked over at saw that Kane had his hands around Roman's throat and that was the next thing he saw was the roof of the arena as Billy Gunn decided to put him through a Fameasser. Kane hit Roman with a chokeslam that had him roll onto his side to alleviate the pain and an evil smile worked its way onto his face as he looked down at the bodies around him.

"_So much for proving myself", _he thought to himself.

The crowd was booing the heck out of the three corporate sell outs now standing tall in the middle of the ring. Yet again, The Authority had taken out The Shield and it wasn't even via Evolution.

"I told you boys, you're easily replaceable!", Kane shouted, loud enough so the cameras could pick it up for the world to hear.

He let out a cool, evil laugh that resonated with the crowd, sending chills down their spines. He knelt down in the middle of the chaos he had created and spoke with a voice that only the three of them could hear.

"I told you not to mess with The Authority. Now you're gonna learn a powerful lesson the old school way."

The Big Red Monster stood up, fixed his tie and left the carnage behind him, without so much as look back. He knew he had already accomplished his mission and he knew that Triple H was going to be a very satisfied man.

**AN: So, there we are. Hope you enjoyed that chapter. Looking forward to uploading the next few chapters. Won't give too much away. Gotta keep you interested somehow. =) **

**For more of the Seven Deadly Sins series check out 'Insanity' by Cody'sxFavouritexGirl, 'Envy' by MellyxBrooks, 'Temptation' by xeloquentangelx and, of course, the story that started it all 'Pride' by RonTheRonin. **

**Please feel free to review and add to your favourites and be sure to check out my other stories too. See you next chapter! xxPikaSixJoyxx**


	3. What To Do Next

**AN: So, here we are with the next chapter to Revenge. I'm a bit behind schedule. I hit a massive roadblock with this. I hope it's alright. **

**Not too sure about the ending so reviews are definitely going to be needed. **

**Without further ado, here's chapter three!**

**Enjoy!**

How The Shield had made it back from the ring without any help was a testament to the strength behind WWE's most dominant stable. The fact Kane had interfered and beaten them down to the ground already gave The Shield the fire they needed to get back up and take down The Authority. Seth still couldn't grasp how the match had gone wrong. His strategies always worked. He couldn't get his head around it. Everyone they passed just gave them a slight nod. It was a nod that they had seen before and had hoped they would never see again. The night they had been defeated by The Wyatt's. People were talking back then about how they had been 'tamed', and they were most likely saying the same again. Seth's plans were always bulletproof, it was why they had done so well, so it was a mystery to him that the beating's they had received by Kane and the New Age Outlaws had even happened. They had been caught off-guard and that had never happened to them before. They didn't even get a chance to fight back. The three of them stood in the room, each with their own pain to deal with, in a silence that already said enough. This couldn't happen again. They knew what had happened, it was clear. They had been set up. It was the only explanation, and they all knew it. Not much was said between the three brothers, they just vented their frustration over what had happened to them only moments ago.

"We weren't ready, plain and simple", Roman said quietly.

And the truth was, they weren't. They were took focused on the Fatal 4-Way which made it the perfect time to take them out.

Seth had to give it to Hunter, he knew his moments. That didn't mean he wasn't still pissed with the man. The Shield bid their goodbyes to each other and headed their separate ways. All Seth wanted right now was a bath, and something to take his mind off the pain. He ran a hand through his two-toned hair as he knew what he was going to be doing the majority if the upcoming weekend, which pissed him off even more. He hadn't had a peaceful weekend for weeks and this weekend was going to be no different. He made his way down the corridor, heading for the car park. He knew that he should have just gone to medical and got checked out but he was too angry to bother. He needed some time to himself, to get his head together and plan the next move. It was time for retaliation; it was just a matter of how and when that was going to happen.

"Seth, there you are!", Sasha called, throwing her arms around him.

"Hey, be careful, Sash", Seth warned, grimacing as a sharp pain hit his side, "I'm still in a lot of pain."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to…", the NXT Diva said, pulling back slowly, "I saw what happened. Are you okay?"

Seth nodded as Sasha moved to his side, sliding her arm around his waist. The two headed down the hall, the former NXT champion, leaning on his friend for support. He hated having people try to help him, it made him feel weak. He had been able to get up out the ring, to a dressing room and down the wall unassisted unlike Dean and Roman so he didn't need any help now.

"I'm fine, I've been through worse", he told her as they rounded a corner, "I'm alright on my own", Seth said, trying to pull away from her.

Sasha let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. Seth had always been like this. Refusing help when he needed it, it was what had put him out back when they were both in FCW.

"Oh come on, Seth, you know I'm not going to leave you like this. You can just about walk", Sasha smiled, pulling his arm around her shoulder.

"Alright, alright", Seth sighed, giving in.

Sasha wanted to bring up the small moment between them before Seth had gone for his match, but she figured that now wasn't the time. She could feel Seth still shaking with anger under her touch and all that mattered right now as making sure he got back okay. There was a silence that passed between them as they headed out into the car park and as awkward as it was, Sasha was okay with it. It was what Seth did whenever he was pissed off. He felt it was better not to talk to anyone rather than talk and end up insulting someone like most people did when they were talking whilst pissed off. She was used to it.

"I just don't understand", Seth exclaimed, his voice echoing through vast area, "My plans work. They never fail, never! I just don't understand!"

Sasha reached Seth's rental and reached for the driver's door.

"Sasha, I can drive, you know", Seth told her.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you", she smiled, pulling open the door.

Seeing, it was going to be pointless fighting with her, Seth rolled his eyes and hopped into the car just as Sasha started up the engine.

"Seth, you were blindsided. It wasn't to do with your strategy", Sasha told him.

"Wasn't it? That's happened to us before and we've dealt with it. Why is it different this time?"

"Because everyone else in that match knew it was going to happen."

Seth looked over at Sasha and she gave him a comforting smile. The young wrestler chuckled to himself before closing his eyes. He had come to the same conclusion, but it still didn't make things right. It still didn't make up for the fact they had taken out by Triple H's lackeys and that's what killed the most. Seth knew he was going to have to avoid any, if not, all counts of social media for the next three days. He knew people were going to talk, and he couldn't bring himself to read all the tweets people would be sending him asking him what happened. Because he was asking himself the same thing.

Sasha could see he was kicking himself and there wasn't much else she could say. She knew that the best thing to do when Seth was in this kind of state was to leave him and let him deal with it on his own. They pulled up to the hotel a few minutes later, and Seth trudged into the lift. The pain was starting to set itself in, and he was struggling to walk, let alone talk.

"Seth, are you going to be okay?", Sasha asked, as Seth entered his hotel room.

Seth turned and gave a slight nod to the Diva standing opposite him.

"Stay with me", Seth blurted out.

Sasha's mouth fell open and she wasn't sure what to say. The two of them stood in the room in silence, the atmosphere a little awkward. They hadn't really been alone together since they had dated. Well, not in a hotel room anyway.

"Please, Sash, I just need someone to talk to right now", Seth pleaded.

Sasha held Seth's gaze and nodded, closing the door behind her. Seth had a quick shower and got changed into a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a blue "Hounds of Justice" t-shirt.

"Really?", Sasha asked, her falling upon the t-shirt as Seth exited the bedroom.

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for my own merch", he smiled, throwing his hands up, "Unless you'd rather me take it off."

"That depends on whether I like what's underneath", Sasha smiled, twirling a strand of her hair.

"Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take", Seth replied, pulling the shirt over his head and dropping it to the floor, "Well?"

Sasha didn't say anything but her just smiled. Seth pulled her to him and squeezed her before heading out onto the balcony. As much as he wanted to, his mind was in it right now and going through with it wouldn't be fair on Sasha. Especially considering how much he cared about her.

"Is it wrong for me to say I miss the days of FCW?", Seth asked as he looked out into the night.

"No, I miss them too, sometimes", she replied.

Seth sighed and rested both hands on the railing.

"It's just, things were easier back then. It was all about impressing the right people and building a name and your skills. Working out what worked and what didn't. Now, I feel lost, Sasha. The Shield hasn't been the same since Extreme Rules, I mean, we're on the same page, which is what I wanted but…it's not the same."

Sasha looked at her friend and could see the confusion in his eyes. Seth wasn't just hurt physically, but emotionally. There was a lot more to this Authority takedown than he was letting on. She could see he was losing hope and he never did that. Seth was the peacekeeper of The Shield; he was always praising their graces. Now, he didn't know what to do.

"You're not sure what to do next", Sasha stated.

Seth just lightly shook his head. What was the next step? Things could only get worse, couldn't they?

Seth glanced over at Sasha and smiled. He was glad she had decided to stay. It was nice to have her around considering everything that was going on. The outside light was glistening against her skin and the wind sent her perfume his way. He smiled and turned slightly to face her. The cool wind blew past her face, throwing her hair across her eyes.

"Here…", Seth said softly, turning to face her, "I've got it."

Reaching over, Seth pulled the few strands from Sasha's face and tucked them behind her ear.

"Alright, that's the second time you've done that to me, Seth, what's going on?", Sasha asked, as she looked at him.

Seth frowned and entwined his fingers together.

"What? I used to do that to you all the time", he said, a little confused.

"Yes, but this is different, Seth. We're not together anymore, why did you really ask me here?

He had to admit, he missed her. They hadn't really spoken properly for a few weeks now. Everything that was happening with The Authority seemed to have stopped that, and Seth felt bad. Sasha was the one good thing he had in his life right now. She was the only other person who knew him better than he knew himself. Although he wasn't sure if that was something he could say right now. So instead, he just leaned forward and kissed her. Without any hesitation, Sasha slid her arms around Seth's neck, the Architect pulling her towards him. By the time they broke apart, the two of them were lying on the sofa in the hotel room, and both of them were topless.

"Sasha…", Seth whispered as he pulled back to look at the woman underneath him.

The two held each other's gaze and Sasha brought her hand alongside Seth's cheek, pulling him towards her, her lips meeting his for the second time that night.

* * *

><p>By the time Raw had rolled around, Seth was in that mood to take a few people out. Just as he had decided, he had spent the weekend resting up getting ready for Monday night. Sasha had spent the weekend with him, mainly because the pain got worse and he couldn't do much, so Sasha became his maid for the weekend. Not that it bothered her, it was actually nice to spend some time with Seth. Most of that weekend was them in each other's arms watching old Sailor Moon episodes and talking about future plans for The Shield and whatever else they felt like talking about. It was good for Seth, he had gotten a lot off his chest and he was glad for the advice Sasha gave him. He arrived to the arena early that night just to make sure he was cleared to compete which, thankfully, he was. The plan he had for tonight's Raw was going to be the start on getting their own payback on Kane and The Authority. The news was that RybAxel were taking on Los Matadores tonight and after their defeat at Mania had gotten around to the Hounds pretty fast and that gave Seth the chance he needed to get some payback on The Shield's side. They waited in the wings and picked the perfect time to strike. Just as Ryback had regained control of the match by taking Diego out with a powerful clothesline, the Shield's music hit, the crowd erupted and it had done exactly what they had wanted.<p>

Using the distraction to his advantage, Diego quickly put Ryback in a roll pin and claimed the victory. Ryback growled in frustration and turned to face the three hounds, who were now standing behind the barricade, each with sadistic smiles on their faces. Seth looked over at Dean and Roman and nodded, and the three of them jumped the barricade, slid into the ring and began a furious assault on the tag team which ended with Ryback being assisted out of the arena after a Triple Powerbomb. And that was only the start of The Shield's payback. By the end of the night, they had taken out The Real Americans leaving Cesaro through a broken announce table. Hopefully, taking out two of the three teams that had been involved in the set-up that ended disastrously last week would send a message to Evolution that they were coming for them. It was just a matter of time.

The night ended the same as always, small conversation and the three of them heading their separate ways. Seth still hadn't voiced his feelings to the others, mainly because he was still having trouble understanding them himself. Even with the advice Sasha had given him, he just wasn't sure where they were going. Yet again, the night had ended with no thank you for the idea of taking out The Real Americans and RybAxel in the same night. Dean and Roman had wanted to wait until next week, Seth, however, didn't think it would get the message across just as much as they wanted. He was beginning to get frustrated. Two words, just two. They managed it whenever he paid for their coffees, surely they could manage it for this.

Seth headed down the corridor, bag in hand. He felt like going to the gym. He needed a late night work out. He needed to be kept busy and that was the perfect thing to do. There was still a lot going on in his mind and he needed the time to sort it out, the gym was usually the perfect place for him to do that, because he was on his own. It gave him the time to think and re-evaluate. Stopping off at a water fountain, Seth felt someone grab his arm. He turned to see Randy Orton standing just opposite him, arms folded, leaning against the wall.

"I've gotta give it to ya, Sethy boy, that double take out tonight was pretty awesome", Randy smirked.

Seth sighed and rolled his eyes. He knew Randy wasn't the kind of man for small talk and neither was he.

"Just get to it, will you?", Seth snapped.

Randy smiled and slipped his hands into his suit pockets. Seth had to hold back a chuckle as he looked at The Viper; he had become a corporate suck-up just like the man he worked for. It was something that almost everyone backstage knew but, of course, they didn't say a word. The last time someone did so, they ended up in hospital for three weeks. So Seth had to be careful, but right now, he didn't care at all. He was fed up of Orton "stalking" him.

"You know, you're a lot cleverer than you look, Sethy boy", Orton smiled.

"Are you going to say whatever it is, you have to say or just stand like dressed like the corporate arsehole you are?", Seth asked, getting impatient now.

Randy's mouth formed into a hard line, clearly unimpressed by the insult Seth had given him. He leaned forward off the wall but then returned to his position, bringing his foot up underneath him.

"You know, if I didn't have other plans right now I'd be beating the shit out of you.", Orton huffed.

"Yeah, well, I'd like to see you try", Seth replied.

The silence that passed was a little tense as there was still a lot of unfinished business between the two and the stables they were part of, but they both had decided to settle that in the ring later. If situations arose within the next few minutes which changed that, Seth wasn't afraid to make the first move and take out the Apex Predator, or the man who was known as that.

"So, what is it then?", Seth asked, breaking the silence.

"You may think that your little "message" has freaked us out, but I'm just letting you know it hasn't. If anything, it's got us even more pre-"

Seth burst out laughing, which didn't go down with Randy at all, not that the young wrestler cared. So this is what Orton had been reduced to? Triple H's postman.

"You have to be kidding me. This is what you're here to tell me", Seth sighed.

Randy gritted his teeth and took a moment. He knew that Seth was pushing his buttons and now it was time to push his.

"That must have been hard though, coming up with that idea and not getting the recognition for it.", Randy began.

Seth looked at him and frowned. What was Randy getting at?

"It's a shame really. Because if you were with us, if you had adapted when you had the chance you'd be getting all of that and more. Those two little words you've been wanting to hear so bad…well, you'd be hearing them a lot more than you do now."

"Who told you that?", Seth asked, taking a step towards Randy.

The Viper held up his arms in surrender and shook his head.

"No one, just a few observations I've made. Although you can bank on th-"

Seth launched himself at Randy and pinned him against the wall. His hair had fallen out of its hairband and was now hanging over his shoulder.

"If you even think of going anywhere near her, I'm going to come for you and take you before you realise who's hit you, you got it?"

Randy nodded his head, Seth's attack showing now effect. The Architect held Randy against the wall before finally letting him go and heading down the hall.

"Just one last thing you should know", Orton called as Seth continued walking, "Maybe you should ask Miss Banks who she's been "reigning" with, if you know what I mean."

Seth continued walking and stormed out of the arena, ignoring Randy's last comment. But that didn't mean it hadn't stuck in his head, it seemed that Sasha was more involved in all this than he had originally thought.

**AN: And there we have it. Chapter three, done and dusted. Please don't forget to review and add to your favourites and all that jazz. It really helps out. Be sure to check out the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins series: MellyxBrooks "Envy", Cody'sxFavouritexGirl "Insanity", xeloquentxangelx "Temptation" and of course, the story that started it all "Pride" by RonTheRonin. **

**See you next chapter guys! XxPikaSixJoyxX**


	4. Side-By-Side No Longer

**AN: Here we are with another instalment of Revenge. This chapter took me forever, I ended up with writer's block AGAIN and I struggled a bit with covering WrestleMania, but I, as Ronnie would love to say, finally managed to get it sorted and this is it.**

**I've got some really good plans coming up soon so tune in!**

**Anyway AN over, here's chapter four!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Four**

WrestleMania Week had come around sooner than anyone thought and it was ten times bigger than Mania 29, because, of course, it was the big one. This wasn't just the "grandest stage of them all" as JR used to call it, but the grandest of the grandest stages of them all. Seth had spent the majority of the week avoiding Sasha's phone calls. He wasn't sure if he could talk to her right now. Maybe it was because he still wasn't sure what to make out Orton's "kind" thoughts the week before. Things for the two-toned Davenport native had been incredibly strange ever since Elimination Chamber and, to be honest, he still wasn't sure if things would ever go back to the way they were. It was a Tuesday morning and Seth had decided to go for an early morning run. He quickly got up and changed into a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a vest. He didn't see the point of having a shower because he was going to have another one when he got back from his run. Pulling his hair up into a bun, the two-toned wrestler picked up his key card, his phone with his headphones and headed into the corridor and towards the lift. He emerged downstairs in the lobby a few minutes later and headed out into the early morning light. The cool air was quite nice on his skin as he jogged through the streets and around New Orleans. It helped to wake him up and the music he was playing in his ears gave him time to get into the mind set for his upcoming match against The New Age Outlaws. He was actually looking forward to their match in 5 days' time. He was thinking about the look on Triple H's face backstage when Billy Gunn and Road Dogg take a Triple Powerbomb each. The crowd chanting their name as their arms are raised by the referee.

The busy schedule at this time of the year was something that Seth was used to as he had done this exactly a year ago at WrestleMania 29 in New Jersey. The only difference was that the schedule was more packed because of the scale of this year's WrestleMania.

"Isn't this a little early for you?"

Seth raised his head and looked up to see current Paige standing opposite him standing in a pair of shorts, trainers and a sports bra. Her long Black hair was up in a ponytail that hung over her shoulder.

"It's never too early for me", Seth replied, standing up.

"Oh, so you're just going to leave me, is that it?", the Anti-Diva teased.

Seth stood up and took a step towards the Diva standing opposite him.

"Come on, Paige, I'm not going anywhere", he smiled, tapping her nose.

Paige smiled and she felt herself blush as she held Seth's gaze. He had never done that to her before.

"You wanna come with?", Seth gestured as he turned to continue his jog.

Paige nodded and the two of them headed down the path and through the park out onto the street. It was strange for Seth, he didn't usually go jogging with someone else, except this one time with Sasha a while back, but it felt odd. Yet, here he was, with Paige and he felt fine. Neither of them said anything on the way back to the hotel and they didn't need to. It was quite nice to know that Seth had someone by his side. Who said that jogging partners needed to have a conversation?

"You know, Sasha's been asking after you", Paige said as they entered the hotel, "She's worried about you."

Seth held back a sigh as he pressed the button for the lift. He pressed a palm against the wall and rested his forehead against the wall. For once could he not have to worry about how someone else felt about him? It was all he ever seemed to be doing at the moment.

"Well, if Sasha wants to find out how I am, she can come and find me herself", Seth replied coldly.

Paige frowned as they entered the lift, pressing the button for their floor. Had they had an argument or something? Of course, the Diva wasn't going to ask, it wasn't her place to. That didn't meant she wasn't just as concerned about Seth as Sasha was. Now, that she had seen him, she seemed more worried about him.

"Why don't just call her, Seth? She misses you", Paige suggested to no reply.

"She's spoken about you a lot. Said that you seem kinda lost and unsure of yours-"

Seth's fists slowly clenched as Paige went on about Sasha and how she had missed him and was worried for him until he suddenly snapped. He grabbed hold of Paige's wrist and yanked it towards him, bringing them almost inches from each other.

"Let me guess, did she put you up to this, huh? Asking you to make sure "I'm alright"?"

Paige shook her head, the fear in her eyes, but Seth wasn't buying it. The lift dinged as the doors slid open; Seth shoved Paige out into the hall and pressed the button to go up to his floor. He rested his head against the wall behind him and sighed.

"I shouldn't have done that", he mumbled.

What was that? He had never done anything like that before. It scared him just as much as it had scared Paige. He made a mental note to apologize for it later and stepped out into the hall once the lift had reached his floor. If what had just happened was a sign of how the rest of this week was going to go, Seth didn't like it one bit.

* * *

><p>Paige kept her eyes fixed on the lifts doors and tried to register what had just happened. She pulled herself up off the floor and glanced at her wrist. Thankfully, there wasn't a bruise or any kind of mark, but it was the act that had scared her. She had never seen Seth like that even back when they were in FCW together. She pushed her jet Black hair out of her eyes and headed down the hall. She stopped outside room number 496 and reached out to knock the door, stopping just before her fist reached the wooden surface. Was this something that Sasha would want to hear right now? The Diva had a lot of hope that Seth would want agree to talk to her that she knew if she told her the news it wouldn't go down very well. The young Brit stepped back and headed back towards the lift.<p>

"_I can't tell Sasha. Not yet_", she said to herself.

It was just going to have to wait, the good thing about relaying the information was the busy schedule Mania Week enthralled would keep her mind off of it, at least, she hoped it would. But it was better to save it for a better time. And until she was in state that she could tell Sasha. Besides, she had other things on her mind. Mainly defending her NXT Women's championship this weekend at the Mania Axxess. It was weird knowing that this was going to be her first WrestleMania and what better way to start by defending your title during what was sure to be one of the best, if not **the** best Pay-Per-View of the year.

The Anti-Diva dusted herself off, rolled her wrist to check if it was broken which, thankfully, it wasn't and headed back into the lift. She had things to do but she had something to settle first. Pressing the button to take her to the upper floor, Paige ran a hand through her jet black hair, pushing it out of her face. She wasn't going to let that slide. The Anti-Diva stormed down the hall and came to a stop as she looked over and saw Summer Rae heading towards her.

"What are you doing here?", Summer asked, as her eyes fell upon the Diva opposite her.

"What I'm doing here, Summer", Paige began, spitting her name, "Is my business and mine alone."

Summer gave a cool smile and tutted.

"Oooh, touchy. Someone's been sneaking around", the blonde Diva smirked, placing her hand on her hip.

Rolling her eyes, Paige couldn't help but laugh. Summer was one to talk. It was no secret she was after The Miz's attention so it wouldn't have surprised the Brit that she had most likely spent the night in his hotel room.

"Yeah, well, at least I'm decent enough to do that", Paige replied to which Summer scowled.

Paige raised an eyebrow as the blonde Diva flicked her hair behind her shoulder and let out a dramatic sigh.

"You know, if we weren't in such a public place I'd have taken you out, but when I'm standing opposite someone who doesn't deserve the title I realise that you're just not worth my time."

Summer barged past the Diva and headed down the hall and entered the lift. Paige clenched her fists and held back the urge to rip Summer's extensions from her head.

"Ohhh Paige", Summer called from the small box at the end of the hall, "You're looking at the woman who's going to become the new NXT Women's championship and show you how a real woman defends her title."

Paige gritted her teeth and ran towards the lift, reaching it just as the doors shut.

"Damn it!", she snapped, whacking her palm on the doors.

The urge to run downstairs and tear Summer's extensions from her pretty little head was now almost too great to resist but, somehow, she managed to keep her cool. Her little 'problem' with Seth was going to have to wait. She had more important things to sort out.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday WrestleMania Axxess<strong>

Seth followed the stage manager who was taking him to the allotted Shield table for the signings with the fans. Roman was sat in the middle with Dean and Seth either side. The Architect had to bite his lip when he saw that as he reached their table. It should be him in the middle. If not for him, The Shield wouldn't exist. They'd still just be passing each other with the odd 'hello' here and there. This was the kind of stuff that made Seth question where he stood. He was beginning to feel like a spoke on the wheel, when in fact he was the wheel. Of course, he couldn't voice any of this. To Dean and Roman, it would be something small that they didn't need to bother fighting over but not to Seth. It was the small things that mattered to him. He pushed all the thoughts to the back of his head as the fans came by one-by-one handing over their merchandise to be signed. A few sneaked the odd photo in while others had decided to wait for the photo op later.

It was nice hearing the fans tell them how much The Shield meant to them and that they couldn't wait for their match in two days. Neither could the Hounds. They were going to bring The New Age Outlaws and Kane to justice. Seth felt proud, not just of himself but of Dean and Roman and how far the three of them had come. Sunday was going to mark the beginning of the end of The Authority and it couldn't come soon enough. Out of all the fans there was one who had stuck in Seth's mind the most. She was a young girl, no older than 12, and she was dressed in full Shield gear. It was amazing to see, but it was what she had told them, Seth in particular, that they weren't going to forget. She reached around to his ear after he had signed her 'Hounds of Justice' t-shirt and whispered softly.

"You are The Shield."

And then she moved on to Roman. Seth was beaming for the rest of the signing. Yet, it had stuck with him for another reason. Things were beginning to add up. Sasha, Paige, Roman, Dean, everything seemed to be colliding much faster than he thought. Before he could make another thought, the stage manager announced that the signing was over and The Shield headed off.

"Well, I'm going to go and get some sleep", Dean yawned, stretching, "I haven't slept properly since this damn trip started."

Roman nodded in agreement and began to follow him, the two of them turned to Seth and Roman spoke first.

"You coming, Two-tone?", Roman asked.

Seth smiled at the sound of his nickname and shook his head. He had somewhere he needed to be.

"I've gotta go sort some stuff out. I'm gonna stop by the NXT area too, catch the matches. I'll see you guys later", Seth told them before heading off.

He glanced at his watch and broke out into a light jog. Sasha had sent him a text asking him to come to her match on Friday against Bayley. He hadn't replied since the night they had spent that weekend together, but he was going to make an appearance anyway. He still hadn't spoken to her since Paige had told him that she missed him and he wasn't sure if he should. Seth slowed down as he reached the NXT section and slipped in at the back of the crowd. Sasha was already in the middle of the ring and she currently had Bayley in a Boston Crab. He wanted to go closer but he didn't want to distract the Diva and cost her the match. He had experienced a match loss like that back in his days off FCW so he knew what it felt like.

He watched as the slightly hyper, always cheery Bayley escaped Sasha's hold and threw her into the turnbuckle closest towards the side Seth was standing and hit her with a Clothesline to the back. Sasha groaned as Bayley started to climb to the top rope, pulling the Diva with her. Sasha could feel Bayley take her arm over her shoulder, readying her for a Suplex. She raised her head slightly and spotted him instantly. His two-toned hair made him a dead giveaway. It was only for a split second, but she knew it was him. Something in the young Diva switched and she pushed herself to standing, throwing Bayley over her shoulder and into the ring. She looked back over in Seth's direction and saw he was still there with his back turned from her. Before Sasha could do anything, Bayley, who had regained her composure, was now running towards her. With a quick Cross Body off the top rope, Sasha used the momentum to flip Bayley into the Crossface and was screaming for Bayley to tap.

"So, that's why you didn't leave with SuperFail and Lunatic Man."

Seth sighed and turned to see Orton behind him, still wearing his gym gear from trip he had made earlier in the day.

"What's it to you?", Seth snapped.

Randy held his hands up in mock surrender and pretended to shiver.

"Ooh, looks like I touched a nerve, huh, Sethy boy?", Randy smiled, clearly enjoying the fact he was getting on Seth's nerves, "Look, all I'm here for is to give you this."

Seth frowned as the Viper reached into his back pocket and handed him a folded piece of paper. He looked at it and immediately knew who it was from.

"Whoa, before you think of doing that, you might want to listen to what I have to say first", Randy said as Seth was just about to throw the note he had screwed up in Orton's face.

"Oh yeah, and what exactly can you tell me that is going to make me keep this piece of crap?", Seth asked, his voice rising slightly.

He couldn't seem to understand how Hunter or any member of Evolution, for that matter, couldn't grasp that he wanted to be left alone. His only engagement with any of them was going to be within the squared circle with him taking them out. Randy waited and held Seth's gaze, checking to see if he truly had The Architect's attention. A cool sly smile appeared on his face and Seth found himself slightly on edge. He clenched his fists, readying himself in case Randy had some hidden tricks up his sleeve. He didn't want to risk being jumped on two days before Mania. That would make their match even harder to tackle.

"Well?", Seth snapped, his patience slowly lessening with each passing second. He was getting close to just walking off and leaving Randy standing alone.

"Adapt or perish."

And with that the Apex Predator disappeared leaving Seth in a state of confusion and strangely enough, curiosity.

* * *

><p>"Get here for 2:30 tomorrow…No, Steve said that it was being sorted. We just need to make sure that everything's ready to go on the dot or else we'll run over and we can't afford that, Steph."<p>

Hunter raised his head to see Randy enter the office with the WWE World Heavyweight titles over each shoulder. Taking off the championship belts, Randy placed them on the desk in front of him and sat down in the chair, swinging his legs up onto the Oak table just in front of him. Usually, with anyone else Hunter would have given them a look that told them to take their feet off his desk instantly, but with Randy he didn't see the point. The only person Orton listened to was himself.

"Look, Steph, I have to go. Business meeting."

Hunter quickly bid goodbye to his wife and hung up the phone. He sat back in his chair and locked eyes with Randy just as Batista came into the room.

"Ahh, glad you could join us, Dave", Hunter greeted as The Animal sat down on a sofa just behind Orton.

Orton smirked and tucked his hands behind his head, shifting himself into a more relaxing position.

This meeting was going to be quite some time, and Randy was glad he hadn't changed into anything more formal. Heck, he still hadn't had time to shower from his gym session. Not that it bothered the Apex Predator. He had been in meetings where his last shower was the night before. It's just the nature of the business.

"Right, well, Sunday's going to be no joke alright. Bryan's going to give it everything so the two of you need to be sure that you know to do. You can't let that man take those titles from you, from us", Hunter told them.

"Relax, we've got it. That little Goat man isn't going to leave with my titles. He's got no chance in hell.", Randy smirked, pleased with the small segway he had made.

Both Dave and Hunter rolled their eyes at Randy's little plug, it was pointless but then again, it was Orton, he seemed to be in one those moods. It was best to just leave him to it.

"Speaking of those who have a problem with us, little Sethy boy took the note I handed him and I suspect it's still sitting in the back pocket of his jeans"

Hunter gave an approving nod and adjusted his tie.

"Good, leave him for now. We'll deal with The Shield after we deal with B+ player who needs to have a grade or two knocked out of him. I wi-"

Batista sighed and pulled off his sunglasses, his face stern with annoyance.

"No offence, Hunter, but screw the damn Shield, my title shot is more important that three goofs who think they can take us out. What's going on with that?", Dave asked, his gruff voice filling the room,

"Dave, whateve-"

"What's going on, Dave, is that you have a title shot and it looks like you're going to have beat me for it, but that's not happening anytime soon, I assure you", Randy said, standing up so he could face his fellow match competitor.

Batista slowly made his way over to Randy who met him halfway, their foreheads inches from each other. Before it was about taking down whoever got in The Authority's way, but with WrestleMania only two days away, all alliances had gone out of the window. Now the focus was the two titles that were sitting on Hunter's desk behind them.

"Yeah, I beg to differ on that, mister", Dave replied.

"Oh yeah? Care to enlighten me?"

"I told you when I returned, I only came back for one thing and one thing only. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It wasn't to join Evolution or help take out any idiots who got in his way", Batista began, pointing at Hunter, "It was to take what was mine and that's those babies right there."

There was a slight pause before the room was filled with Randy's cool, cold laugh much to Dave's annoyance.

"'_Those babies'_, Dave, belong to, and will only ever belong to, one man and that man is me. So don't you go thinking that you can beat me this Sunday because I got news for you, mate, you ain't got a chance."

Hunter sat there watching two of his top Superstars and wondered who was going to throw the first punch. The COO wasn't fazed by the current confrontation at all, mainly because it was something that beginning to become a regular occurrence between Orton and Batista. Of course, it was understandable, in two days' time they weren't going to be standing in the ring side-by-side but instead as opponents so it made sense that tensions were high. But he needed them to put that aside right now, he had bigger things to think of. He had to do what was 'best for business' and if that meant having Orton and Batista in a match then so be it.

"As much you two want to beat the shit out of each other, I'd prefer if you didn't. Either take it outside or hold it in until Sunday. Can you two do me that curtsey?", Hunter asked, breaking the silence between them.

"You gotta be crazy if you think that you're coming out of Sunday still holding those titles. You might as well say goodbye to them now because it's the last time you're ever going to be holding them.", Dave said, completely ignoring Hunter.

"Let me guess, you're going to be one to take them, right?"

"Damn right I am."

Randy let out another cool laugh and turned to pick up the World Heavyweight title, lifting it into the air so that the name plate was between them both.

"Well, you see here, this little name plate happens to have my name on it and it's staying there for a very, very, very long time. Looks like you're just going to have to deal with it!"

Scooping up the WWE title in his free hand, Randy sauntered out of the room and left the COO with a very pissed off Dave Batista.

**AN: Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. Don't forget to add to your favourites and review. It really helps out. Thanks to all those who have reviewed so far. For more in the Seven Deadly Sins series, check out "Envy" by MellyxBrooks, "Insanity" by Cody'sxFavouritexGirl, "Temptation" by xeloquentangelx and the story that started it all "Pride" by RonTheRonin. Feel free to check out my other stories too. See you next chapter! xxPikaSixJoyxx**


	5. I Am The Shield

**AN: So here we are with chapter five! Hope you're all enjoying my story so far. Not much else to say about this really. I did promise I was going to be at Payback by the end of this chapter, with the way this chapter's ended I realised carrying on would have taken away the impact. At least I hope it has some impact. **

**Well, here's chapter five!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Five**

Paige finished pulling her jet black hair into a ponytail and grabbed her coffee from the barista in Starbucks, thanking her and heading out to her rental parked across the road. She slipped into the driver's seat and placed her bag next to the two titles on the passenger seat next to her. Not only was she the NXT Women's champion, she was now the Divas champion. The first woman to ever hold both titles at once. It still hadn't hit her, that she was now the top Diva in the business. She had beaten AJ Lee. A woman she had dreamed of having matches with. A woman who, only two days ago, recently defended said title in a ridiculous Battle Royal. Now, it was here in her car, only a hand stretch away. She hadn't expected to congratulate the woman and end up having a title match in process. She took a small sip of her coffee and pulled out her phone to see that she had a text message from Sasha.

"_Look across the road. Bo$$"_

Paige frowned and followed her best friend's instructions, glancing in the direction of the coffee shop to see if she could spot anything. And sure enough, there was Sasha Banks standing just outside the shop waving. Paige smiled and took one last look at her championships before stepping out of her rental and heading across the road to join her best friend, greeting her with a hug.

"Hey there Diva's champ", Sasha greeted, taking a sip of her Caramel Macchiato.

Paige felt her cheeks blush and gave Sasha a slight nudge.

"Still not use to hearing that then?", Sasha asked, reading the Brit perfectly.

"Nope, and to tell the truth, I don't think I ever will. I've only just gotten used to being the NXT Women's champion. It's happened so quickly."

The two headed over to an empty table outside Starbucks and sat down. It had been a while since they had seen each other. Their WrestleMania schedules over the past weekend hadn't really allowed them much time to hang out so it was nice to finally catch up.

"So, what's it like knowing you're at the top of the Divas food chain?", Sasha asked as Paige took a sip out of her cup.

Paige began spilling out all how she was feeling and as much as Sasha wanted to listen she couldn't. Her eyes kept looking at her phone, her mind kept thinking to the two-toned Shield member who was probably at the gym. She didn't understand Seth at all. Ever since they had broken up over a year ago, things had been good between them. They had gone their separate way amicably and then he, somehow, returned into her life and even when that happened things were still good. It made no sense to the NXT Diva. The weekend they had spent together, the texting, the calls, it all just suddenly stopped. With no explanation. It made no sense to her at all. The amount of calls she had cancelled before they had gone through were almost close to triple figures. And then he turned up at her NXT match at WrestleMania Axxess and that sent her into another spiral. She didn't understand him, or where they stood. Where was that? Friends? Exes? Friends who were maybe getting to be more than friends? What?

The table between the two Divas vibrated as Sasha's phone went off and she swiped it up almost immediately. Paige raised her eyebrows as she watched the excitement disappear as quickly as she picked up her phone.

"Sash, talk to me", Paige said softly as she watched Sasha throw her phone back on the table.

Sasha took a moment and sighed, running a hand through her Caramel coloured hair.

"I don't get him, what did I do?", Sasha asked, mainly to herself.

Paige put down her coffee cup and pushed a strand of her hair out of her face. She could see that Sasha was having some trouble and she thought back to the day she had spoken to Seth.

"_Well, if Sasha wants to find out how I am, she can come and find me herself."_

Was now the best time to tell Sasha exactly what Seth had told her? She seemed to be in a lot of distress about their situation, but as the two Divas sat there, the young Brit couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. The only problem was, she wasn't sure what about. The way she saw it, she had two options. She either told Sasha to go and see him or she told her nothing and let things play out for themselves.

"You didn't do anything, Sasha," Paige assured her, "I guess he's just going through a lot at the moment."

"Hmm…I guess he is, I think I might go and talk to him. Or should I? Oh, I don't know. What would you do, Paige?", Sasha asked, raising her head to look at her best friend.

"Me? Truthfully, I'd give it a couple of days", Paige began.

Lie.

"Just let things die down and see if I can get him on his own, talk to him away from everyone else."

Lie.

"I wouldn't want to piss him off by storming in the locker room and screaming at him."

Lie.

"He wouldn't talk to me otherwise. Not to mention, I'd want to avoid everyone finding out about our business, you know? With the way The Authority are going I don't want them jumping on my case over no reason."

Sort of a lie. Truth be told, she wouldn't give a shit who found out as long she got through to Seth and he knew that she was pissed off with him.

"Okay, that might actually be a good idea. Give him some space to breathe but, wait a minute, hasn't he already had enough space to breathe? How much time is he asking for here?", Sasha asked confused.

Before Paige could answer, AJ Lee was walking, well skipping, down the street towards them. The Geek Goddess spotted the jet black hair of the Diva who had taken her baby from her and smirked. Slowing down to a walk, the former Divas champion made her way over to the NXT Divas sitting at the table and rested her elbows on the warm surface.

"Fancy seeing you here, Paige", AJ smiled, spitting the Brit's name.

"AJ, look I'm not looking for a fi-"

Paige went to stand up to leave only for AJ to slide onto her lap and grab hold of the back on the chair Paige was sitting on. Sasha raised her head from her phone and wasn't sure what exactly was going on. She could feel eyes on them from the people inside who were staring at the two women outside wondering what was going to happen next.

"Oh, don't worry, I don't fight pale vampires in the sun. Not worth my time", AJ told her, tilting her head.

"Pale vampi-"

AJ had placed her hand over Paige's mouth stopping her from talking. This little scene was beginning to get weirder and weirder with each second that passed.

"Now, listen here, just because you beat me in a match with a stupid roll-up pin doesn't make you a Diva's champion. You're looking at the Diva's champion. The one who put everything she had on the line to get to that title. I'm not letting you take my baby away from me so easily, alright. So when you go back into your crappy little rental over there, here's what I suggest you do. Give my baby the biggest and longest kiss of your life because come Payback that's the last time you're ever going to hold it. And I mean ever."

The New Jersey native didn't even give Paige anytime to reply she just jumped off her lap and headed into Starbucks waving goodbye to Sasha as she passed her.

"Uhh, what just happened?", Sasha asked, turning back to face Paige after watching AJ disappear into the store.

"Honestly, Sash, I have absolutely no idea."

* * *

><p><strong>Two Weeks Later<strong>

"You two had one job! One job dammit!"

Hunter had been pacing back and forth in his office for almost an hour. He still hadn't gotten over the fact that Daniel Bryan was now sitting at home with the two titles that both Hunter and Stephanie had tried so hard not to let him have. Not only had he beaten him now less than an hour later, he had taken out Batista and Orton all on the same night. At the biggest Pay-Per-View in WWE history. He was no longer the B+ player they had been calling him the past 8 months. He was much more than that. So much more than that. Daniel Bryan hadn't just beaten Hunter; he had humiliated him and everything he had worked for. All his plans had gone; everything both he and Stephanie had worked for. They were back at Square One and Hunter hated being at Square One.

"Can either of you two tell me how in the world you managed to lose to a 5'10 hilly-billy Goat-faced B minus, "Yes!" screaming little shit? Do you have any idea what that's done to our plans? Everything we planned for, everything it's gone. Fucking dust because you two couldn't keep one guy down! One guy!"

Randy and Batista looked at each other and sighed. They were just as pissed off as Hunter was. Batista had returned to the WWE for one thing only and that was the titles that were now in the hands of Daniel Bryan. It meant that the game had changed. It wasn't exactly back to Square One for The Authority, but it wasn't three steps forward either. Randy didn't know what to say. Matter-of-fact was that he had lost his titles. The only good thing was that they hadn't gone to Hollywood goof sitting across from him.

"You see, Hunter, if I had gotten my title shot when it was due. None of this would have happe-"

"Oh, I wouldn't go there buddy", Randy smirked, as he looked at Hunter's facial expression.

Batista shifted in his seat as Hunter took off his tie and scrunched it up in his hands. The atmosphere in the room was eerie. Both Randy and Batista were counting down the minutes until they could run as far away from Hunter's office as their $300 shoes would take them.

"Who are you, my mom?", Dave asked, looking at Randy.

"Nope, I'm just the guy who told that you shouldn't piss the big man off. He's in a pre-"

"I'll go where I want, thank you. Just so you know, you also happen to be the guy who lost to a guy who looks like a young Chuck Norris. I wonder how pissed he is with you," Dave smirked.

Hunter rolled as Randy's fists clenched and sighed.

"Here we go again….," he mumbled.

"Listen, baldly. I'm not the one who ended up with ripped skinny jeans after a Spear."

"You do remember it was you that I took out, goofball."

"Goofball?" Randy asked, standing up, "Who the-"

"Hey, hey hey!", Hunter exclaimed throwing his tie at Batista, "If you haven't noticed, there are two 40lb titles missing from my desk, instead they're at home with some nature loving lumberjack midget! How about you pull your finger out your little butt crack and figure out how you're going to get them back to me?" Hunter snapped, his voice rough with anger.

Batista locked eyes with the COO and slipped his sunglasses on his face.

"That's not my business," Dave said to him as he headed for the door.

"That's where you're wrong, Dave," Hunter said, "When you happened to partly responsible for this. So I suggest if you still want that title shot of yours, you sit your smug arse down. "

Batista took a moment and turned to look at the man he called his friend.

"You know, as much as I'd love to do that Hunter, I think I'll pass thanks. Looks like you'll just have to deal with it."

"Damn it, Dave!", Hunter exclaimed, slamming his fist on his desk, "You get fucking arse back here right now!"

Batista stopped walking and turned to face Hunter, locking eyes with the COO. Hunter's eyes were ablaze with anger, it was clear he wasn't finished with the meeting. Randy sighed and kept looking between his boss and his friend to see if they were still breathing. The only thing that could be heard in the silence that had arisen was the ticking clock on wall above them. Tension in the ranks wasn't what they needed right now.

"Ok-ay….if you two are going to play a game of Statues then I'm off," Randy stated, standing up.

"Sit. Down" was all Hunter said, finally emerging from his showdown with Batista.

Batista slipped into the chair and folded his arms. This meeting wasn't finished yet and Batista leaving hadn't added to the fire.

"I don't give a shit about your title shots. You'll get them when I say you'll get them. Just remember that. We've got bigger problems to sort out now. Daniel Bryan is easy. He's a B+ player, and you can always take out B+ players. If the two of you weren't bickering like fucking kids over a title shot, you'll have noticed that we have three dogs we need to put down. Those "hounds", or whatever they want to call themselves, took us out last week and I think it's about time we give them a taste of their own medicine."

* * *

><p>Seth zipped up his hoodie, pulling the hood over his head and headed across the road. He had decided to go for a late night walk. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was half past 11. For some reason, he was wide awake. He couldn't seem to sleep. Why that was he had no idea; perhaps it because his brain was in overtime. He felt mentally drained. He had spent the last week strategizing as many ways as possible to take down Evolution. If he wasn't doing that then he was at the gym training and if he wasn't doing that; he was trying to avoid Paige and Sasha. He hadn't seen either Diva since before WrestleMania and he was hoping that it was going to stay that way. He hadn't really had much time to himself. He entered the lobby of the gym, making his way to the changing rooms. He didn't normally go for late night workouts, it usually messed up his timetable, but tonight he felt like he had no choice. And with the way his trainer had set his CrossFit training this month, it was the perfect fitness workout to keep him level-headed. Pulling off his t-shirt, Seth quickly shoved all of his gear into one of the lockers. He turned to pick up his towel from the bench to see a guy leaning against one of the lockers at the other end of the row. Seth frowned in confusion wondering who it was, but turned back to his locker and secured the padlock. As he turned to head towards the gym, the guy had tapped on the locker he was leaning against, gaining Seth's attention. The Architect turned to see that the man was a small piece of paper and placed it on the bench between them.<p>

"Care to tell me what it says?", Seth asked, to which the guy just simply pointed at the note.

Reluctantly, Seth realised that he had no choice but to look, something was emanating from this guy that told him he didn't like to be ignored. He glanced at the note and looked to see what the man had written on it.

"_Tame the Shield"_

Seth wasn't sure if he should pick up the note. _"Tame the Shield."_ Was someone working for The Authority?

"Hey!" he called out to the guy who had begun to walk off.

Immediately Seth leapt over the bench and grabbed the figure, shoving him against one of the lockers. The sound of body crashing against metal echoing through the small room. Seth pinned the man against the dark metal behind him by sliding his forearm under the man's neck whilst holding onto the man's shirt in his other hand.

"How did you know I was here?", he asked, practically screaming at the man.

The man didn't reply, and Seth shoved him against the locker, hoping that it would force the man to answer.

"Who told you to give this me? Was it Triple H? Orton? Batista? Stephanie? Who?"

Every question Seth had asked, he got no reply and the frustration was beginning to build. The man simply pointed at the note and rolled his index finger around in a circle. He was telling him to turn it over.

"You do it," Seth snapped, yanking the man towards it.

He'd have done it himself but he didn't want to risk losing the man before getting some answers to his questions. The figure picked the note up and turned it over revealing the writing on the other side. Seth frowned as he looked upon the blank piece of paper. None of it made sense.

"Adapt or perish," the figure smirked and Seth snapped.

He threw the man across the bench and watched as he crashed into the lockers opposite. He waited until the man had picked himself up and, using the bench in front of him as leverage, leapt into the air, kicking the man in his face, knocking him to the ground again. He shoved the man's head against the locker and knelt beside him.

"Who sent you?", Seth asked to no reply.

Shoving the man against the locker for the second time, Seth decided to try again.

"Who. Sent. You?"

The man didn't reply, instead he just looked at Seth and a sly smile worked its way onto his face. He had been warned that his arrival might have set The Architect off so he was well aware this was going to happen. In fact, he had been waiting for it. Seth could see he was getting nowhere so he just pushed the man away from him, stood up and began to head down the hall.

"The Shield don't need you", the man said just as Seth disappeared.

The two-toned star came to a stop and re-traced his steps.

"Say that again," Seth demanded; his voice low and cold.

Pulling himself to his feet, the man closed the distance between them and leaned towards Seth's ear.

"The Shield. Don't. Need you," he repeated.

A low growl rose in Seth's throat and before the man knew it; he was flung back into the lockers. Seth had had enough of hearing that Roman and Dean didn't need him. They did need them. More than they realised. It was like that girl had told him, he was The Shield.

"They don't need me, huh?" Seth shrieked as he began unloading a crazy amount of kicks in the man's chest, "Who planned every damn match from their debut to Payback? Me! Who's been put through table after table after damn fucking table only to have nothing but a shitty pat on the back? Me! Who has gone through months of hearing Roman fucking Reigns and Dean shitty Ambrose being chanted while no one even noticed me? Me!"

Seth picked up the figure and slammed his head onto the bench. He jumped up onto it and rested his foot on the side of the man's head.

"You think The Shield doesn't need me? Well, let me tell you something," Seth told him, raising his foot slightly, "I AM THE SHIELD AND THE SHIELD IS ME!"

Seth jumped into the air and slammed his foot against the man's his face, the sound of his jaw and few teeth breaking as his foot connected with the flesh underneath it. The man fell back onto the floor and his hood fell across his face, revealing himself to his attacker. His eyes were wide with fear as he realised who it was he had just taken out. The honey blonde ponytail that hung over the man's shoulder gave it away instantly. Shawn "The Heartbreak Kid" Michaels, what was he doing working for The Authority? Now wasn't the time for Seth to be thinking about that. Quickly composing himself, the Davenport native moved around to his locker and unlocked the door, reaching for his bag. He took out a pan and scribbled on the back of the note that he been 'delivered' to him.

"Next time you see Hunter, which I suspect will be pretty soon, you might to want to give him this," Seth said, sliding the note into the pocket of Shawn's hoodie.

The Hall of Famer couldn't even utter so much as a word and the last thing he heard were the sound of Seth's footsteps fading away as he headed into the gym for his late night workout.

**AN: And there we are with chapter five. Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Please make sure you review and add to your favorites, it really helps out. Also make sure you read the other stories part of the Seven Deadly Sins series: **

**Envy by MellyxBrooks**

**Insanity by Cody'sxFavoritexGirl**

**Pride by RonTheRonin**

**Temptation by xeloquentxangelx**

**See you next chapter guys! **

**XxPikaSixJoyxX**


	6. It's About Time

**AN: So here we are with Chapter Six. Not much to say really. Thanks to all those who are leaving reviews and adding to your favourites. I'm glad you're enjoying it. It's great hearing about your views. Next chapter's going to be hot! **

**For now here's chapter six!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Six**

Three days had passed since the assault on HBK and the news of the Hall of Famer being hospitalized had only just reached the WWE locker room. The Authority had held a small press conference yesterday evening announcing the unfortunate news to the company and the world on a live stream on the WWE Network (AN: Which you now buy for 9.99! Or 12.99 for us Brits! Sorry, couldn't help it. It had to be done). It was a shock to the world, the atmosphere in the locker room as Triple H revealed the current condition to the Heartbreak Kid. As Seth stood there, his brothers on either side, he couldn't help but smile. He could see the anger in Hunter's eyes as the COO continued to explain the situation and he knew that this had hit The Authority hard. Of course, it meant that until he was going to have to go incognito for the next few weeks, but that didn't bother the Davenport Native. He was used to being in the dark.

"For now, Shawn is currently in a critical but stable condition, his injuries are pretty serious. I don't want to reveal the exact extremity of them but the fact he has a broken jaw in two places is making the investigation harder. It means that things will be much slower in trying to find the culprit. The little we do know is that whoever did this was skilled. _**Very**_ skilled."

A small smirk grew on Seth's face as the COO clenched his fist and took a moment. It was clear that his encounter with the Hall of Famer three days ago hadn't gone the way Hunter had wanted it to, which meant that things were in favour of The Hounds.

Of course, the impact of the situation only meant The Shield were going to be under more fire from The Authority, but that was fine, because they would be ready for it.

"What are you going to do in the meantime, sir?" Renee Young asked.

"Honestly, the only thing we can do, Renee," Hunter told the young reporter.

"And that is?"

"Adapt or perish."

The press conference ended soon after that and the entire locker room began to file out of the small room they had been ushered into. Seth pulled his hood up over his head and began to head towards their dressing room, Roman and Dean following closely.

"Well, damn, I don't think anyone was expecting that," Roman said as he entered the room, closing the door behind him.

"No shit," Dean said, pulling himself onto a table in the corner of the room.

Seth took a moment to think about what to say. He sat on a stool in the middle of the room; a lot was running through his mind. He reached into his pocket and ran a finger over the envelop Randy had given to him at WrestleMania. A part of him wanted to open it, in front of Roman and Dean, but he knew they would be more interested in how he it was given to him rather than why. The best thing for him to do was to just wait. It was a good thing he had other things to focus on.

"If we figure this out properly, this can work in our favour. Right now, their focus is rattled. Hunter's going to be spending more time finding whoever took HBK out than us so now is our time to strike them where it hurts."

Roman and Dean turned their attention to their little brother and readied themselves to hear his plan.

"Whatcha got, bro?" Dean asked, listening intently.

"Well, I'm thinking we don't plan anything," Seth began, quickly holding up his hands as his saw the confusion on Dean's face, "That doesn't mean I'm saying we don't actually have a plan," he quickly added.

"Then what are you saying?" Dean asked, slightly agitated.

"I'm saying that we make them think we don't have a plan," The Architect continued.

Roman nodded, on to what his brother was saying and slipped his hands into his pockets.

"If they don't think we have anything-"

"They'll think they have the upper hand and that they've already won," Roman interrupted, catching on to where Seth was going.

The Architect nodded and looked at Dean, watching him as he processed the information.

"Any chance we have to pull the dirt over their goofball eyes you know I'm in," Dean smiled, his eyes hungry for a fight.

Seth nodded and stood up, holding his fist out in front of him. Roman and Dean soon followed and the three of them stood in the room, fists connected.

"Believe in The Shield," Roman declared.

Whilst the three of them stood there, brothers united, Seth couldn't help but think about how he was going to get out of here. Triple H was going to be looking for him, and he could guarantee that he was going to be sending Baby Viper and The Skinny Jeans Ripper to do the dirty work for him. As much as he didn't have much, if not any, time for Evolution, Seth was ready. He was ready for whatever came his way. It was time to show them that he wasn't going to be messed around with any longer.

* * *

><p>The screeching sound that was the voice of Alicia Fox echoed through the halls. She had just lost her match to the Divas champion Paige and she was angry. The Foxy Diva had gone into a rage, worse than AJ Lee's crazy meltdowns. In comparison, AJ wasn't nearly as crazy as Alicia. She was tearing up the arena, anything that was in her path was being thrown on the floor, and anyone who was in her way was being shoved into the nearest wall. Renee looked at her, trying to hold back her laugh, as the Diva continued her path of destruction.<p>

"Alicia," Renee called, bringing the former Divas champion to a stop, "I-I was wondering if I could ask you about what happened after your match with Pai-"

"Don't talk about that!" Alicia interrupted, "What happened is I was simply expressing my disappointment in the fluke win that vampire girl who is holding my cup happened to achieve."

"Urm, okay? There a lot of people saying that you're copying AJ Lee and that you're losing it. What would you say to that?"

Alicia tilted her head and placed both hands on her hips. She frowned and looked at the young reporter, studying her closely.

"And who said that?" she asked, her voice calm and light, "Not that it matters, they can try and embarrass me all they like, I'll give the- HEY YOU!"

Renee jumped at the sound of Alicia raising her voice, watching her as she ran down the hall grabbing a guy by the collar of his t-shirt. She yanked the man back, sending him to the ground.

"You embarrassed me!" Alicia screamed, sitting on his back, "You don't ever get to do that! I am the Queen, do you hear me? The Queen! The Foxy Queen!"

Renee stood there, the microphone still in her hand, unsure of what to do. She turned to the camera to tell the guy to cut the feed when Alicia pointed at her and froze. Her eyebrows furrowed and she caught sight of the red light on the camera.

"Is that on? Are you filming me?" she asked, standing up.

Renee hesitantly nodded and began to take steps away from WWE's new crazy Diva. Alicia closed the distance between her and Renee within seconds. The young reporter took a few steps back and hit a wall as Alicia headed over to her.

"Who gave you permission to film me? The Queen of Film?" Alicia screeched, spitting in Renee's face.

"I, urm…I don't really kn-"

"Of course you don't know! You're blonde!"

The Diva seized a handful of Renee's hair and brought it to her nose, inhaling the scent and taking a bite.

"Is this even blonde? It sure doesn't taste like it."

Before Renee could reply, Alicia had thrown her to the floor and turned to face the camera.

"Now, you listen to me, vampire girl, my Silver cup that you're holding needs to come back to mummy now. So you better watch out because it's time for you to be embarrassed."

"What the heck is up with this chick?" Sasha asked, waving the remote at the TV as she watched Alicia's "interview" with Renee Young on the Network.

"No clue, I'd say she's crazy but I think that's an understatement," the Divas champ stated, glancing at her title which sat on her coffee table in front of her.

"Speaking of crazy, where is AJ?"

"On her honeymoon probably."

It was no secret that AJ had asked for some time off to spend time with her now-husband, CM Punk; the engagement had come as a bit of a shock to a lot of people in the WWE locker room as they didn't even know that they had been dating, which was understandable seeing as they were both very private people. As crazy as things were with the former Divas champ, Paige had to admit she was happy for the New Jersey native. It was nice knowing that someone was finally able to handle the crazy chick. That didn't mean she was going to have other people after the title she had beaten AJ for almost three weeks ago.

The young Brit hadn't really thought about being the Divas champ the last few weeks and what it meant. She wasn't just going to have Alicia Fox and AJ after her title, but the entire roster. She had to admit, she was nervous, but part of her was excited. It was time to show the world what she could do. Sliding off the sofa she was on, Paige headed into the bedroom and picked up her purse. She needed a drink, and a strong one at that.

"Hey, I'm going out," Paige told Sasha as she emerged from their room, "Don't wait up, okay?"

"Sure, catch you later."

* * *

><p><strong>Downtown Bar<strong>

"How's it going, baby?"

Paige raised her head from her glass and looked at the sleazy man standing at the end of the table of the booth she was in. She raised her eyebrow and huffed. This was the third drunk guy who had approached her with the same pick-up line. She was sure they must have taken a leaf out of Heath Slater's book.

"No, I'm not giving you my number. I don't know your name and I don't know what planet took over Pluto, please just go," she said before the man could even open his mouth.

Defeated, the man headed back to his friends and slumped down in his seat, clearly upset with the fact he had failed in his mission.

"Ouch. That was cold."

Paige turned to see none other than Bad News Barrett standing with a two beers in his hands.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the empty space in the booth.

Paige nodded, and Barrett slid into the seat with ease, sliding over the beer towards her. She nodded in thanks, raising her bottle and joining it with his before taking a good long swig.

"So, what are you doing here at this time of the day? You don't seem like the early drinking type."

"Well, what can I say? I guess that's just one of my hidden talents."

Barrett raised his eyebrow and set down his beer, his eyes running over the Diva opposite him.

"Oh yeah?" he teased, "Care to show me another one of your "hidden" talents?"

Paige locked her eyes with Barrett and didn't reply; she just winked and downed the rest of her beer, much to the astonishment of Barrett.

"There's another one," she smirked.

Barrett shifted in his seat slightly as the Diva's champion stood up and headed over to the bar to order another round. If this was just the start of their encounter, then Wade was going to in for the night of his life.

* * *

><p>The press conference the COO had given a few days ago had made Seth realise exactly how planned the attack on Shawn Michaels was. He thought back to how Hunter had kept glancing at him with every pause he had made. The look in his eyes told them everything the both of them already knew. The he knew Seth was Shawn's attacker, everyone on that stage behind him knew. And it frustrated The Architect that he had allowed him to do so. So much so that he now found himself standing in the lift inside the WWE HQ heading up to the office of the man who had his blood boiling. He hadn't told his brothers where he was going; just that he had some unfinished business to sort out, and he did. He had a good few words for his boss to hear and he didn't care if it got him suspended or fired, he was going to make sure that Hunter heard them. The time he had spent in the lift had given him the time to not only form what he was going to say, but he thought about his brothers and the people that this situation had caused him to ignore. He still hadn't gotten back to Sasha yet, and he decided to send her a text once he had gotten out of this…confrontation. He realised that he couldn't hold off seeing his friend forever, he was going to have to face her sooner or later.<p>

As the lift ascended through the shaft, Seth pulled out the envelope Randy had given him and decided it was time to open it. It had hit him as he drove over to the building that the note meant The Authority had him under their power and they would simply be waiting for him to crack, but that wasn't going to happen. At least not on Hunter's terms anyway. His slid his finger under the flap and tore open the envelope. As he looked inside, everything seemed to just stop. His fist clenched and he screwed up the envelope into a crinkled ball and exited the lift. If this conversation he was about to have was going to cost him his job, Seth didn't care; he was ready. It was about time that Hunter realised just how crazy this situation had gotten.

**AN: So, there was chapter six. Hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to leave a review and add to your favourites. It really helps me. Feel free to check out my other stories and for more on The Seven Deadly Sins Series, check out:**

**"Envy" by MellyxBrooks**

**"Pride" by RonTheRonin**

**"Temptation" by xeloquentxangelx**

**"Insanity" by Cody'sxFavouritexGirl**

**See you next chapter guys! XxPikaSixJoyxX**


	7. That's All This Is To You?

**AN: Hi guys! Here we are with chapter seven. Slight warning, this chapter starts in a pretty...well let's just say, hot place. Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter. I love reading what your reactions. **

**So without further ado,**

**Here's chapter 7!**

**Enjoy!**

Paige pushed Wade against the wall and crashing her lips against his as they entered his hotel room. The Bad News anchor slid his arm around the young Brit's waist and spun her around. He let out a soft groan as Paige bit on his lower lip and eased her tongue into his mouth. They melded together, Paige's hands sliding into Barrett's jet black hair, seizing a part of his curls. Whatever was going through the Diva's mind Barrett was already thinking ahead. Pulling her top over her head, Barrett's lips reached for her neck and began trailing a number of kisses down her slim frame, stopping at the top of her jeans. Barrett's t-shirt soon joined Paige's on the floor second later. Paige pulled him up so she could bring her lips to his again and pushed him back towards the bed. But Barrett had other ideas in mind. Still in hold of her hand, he pulled her towards him and they crashed onto the floor.

"Oh, so you that kind of guy, huh?" Paige asked, teasing him slightly.

"Would you have me any other way?" he asked, as he pulled off her jeans.

"Well, that depends," Paige said seductively, lightly biting his ear.

"Oh yeah, on what?" Wade asked as his left a trail of kisses down Paige's stomach.

"On just how….oh!"

Wade couldn't help but smirk as Paige let out a gasp.

Her mind couldn't think as Barrett continued to explore Paige's inner depths with his tongue, the sensation running through her entire frame. She reached out and grabbed hold of the edge of the carpet. Her fingers tensing as she could feel herself get closer and closer to that climax. One last lash of his tongue and it sent her over the edge. The Diva's champ let out an overwhelming gasp and Wade felt her relax under his grasp. He let out a cool laugh as Paige tried to regain her breath and he moved up to her face, kissing her again.

"We've only just got started," Wade told her, taking one of her breasts into his mouth. Pushing Barrett away from him, the young Brit raised her eyebrow and smirked. She rolled him onto his back and straddled him. She leaned towards him, bringing their lips together again.

"If you think you're having a slow and sensual night, I'm afraid I've got some bad news." Barrett suggested, wriggling his eyebrows to Paige's dismay. The door creaked and Paige, alert as ever, immediately turned her attention to the door.

"And if you don't let go of that woman, I'm afraid I'm gonna have some bad news for you in just a few moments," the dark voice came from the door. The door was then kicked off the hinges all the way and in stepped a tower of a man.

"Who the bloody hell do you think you are, busting into my hotel room like this? Stupid Americans can't grasp the concept of privacy," Barrett complained as the man smirked. "Oh trust me, I understand the concept of privacy. But quite frankly for you Barrett, I just don't give a damn," the man smirked, stepping out of the shadows to reveal himself as the powerhouse of the Authority, the monster Kane.

Kane immediately stormed into the room, grasping Barrett by the throat, even if he didn't have any clothes on at the given moment, and tossed him into the wall. He delivered stiff lefts and rights, knocking him back onto the bed with a thunderous uppercut. Kane turned to his attention to Paige, his mug meaner than ever. "I suggest you gather your clothes and get the hell out of here. Seth's outside waiting for you," Kane said, turning his attention back to Barrett. "Hey Wade, did I ever tell you about the time I electrocuted a man's testicles? Well I'm afraid I've got some bad news for you," Kane said, rubbing his hands together as Paige quickly got the hell out that room.

* * *

><p>"Listen, Vince, I'm going to have to call you back….business has arrived," Hunter said, hanging up.<p>

Folding his arms, the two-toned native huffed and shook his head.

"Are you kidding me? "Business?" That's all this is to you?"

"Listen Se-"

"No, you listen. The next time you need to talk to me, don't send your retired redneck pal to do your dirty work. In fact, don't send either of your bald henchmen and that includes Finlay, Joey and Kane. You get up off your fucking corporate ass and come get me yourself!"

Seth didn't even give Hunter the time to respond, he stormed out of the office and headed out of the building. As he crossed the road towards his rental, his phone rang.

"Hello?" Seth answered, unlocking his car.

"We need to talk."

Seth opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. It was Sasha. The woman he hadn't spoken to or seen for weeks. What could he say?

"Hello?" Sasha asked after Seth didn't reply.

"Look, now isn't really a good tim-"

"Don't give me that, Seth," Sasha snapped.

Seth pulled a face as he realised the NXT Diva was more pissed off with him than he thought. He had gone through so much the last week or so, that she hadn't really come into his mind at all.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Whatever. You just do what you want to do, as always."

With that the Diva hung up and left him to figure out what to do next. Seth decided the best thing to do was go to the gym. The drive back to the hotel was a lot longer than usual and it frustrated the Architect. Just as he pulled into the car park, his phone rang again for the second time.

"Hello?"

"You might want to come upstairs, there's someone here to see you," Orton said to him.

"Oh yeah, let me guess, it's Kevin Nash pretending not to be involved with his "friend" again?"

Orton gruffed, clearly not impressed with Seth's joke.

"Someone even better, trust me. You'll know when you see her."

"_Her?"_ Seth thought himself.

"Who are you talking about?" he asked.

"Just get up here and you'll find out won't you?"

Orton hung up before Seth could answer and Seth yelled in frustration. That was the second time today that someone had hung up on him without him agreeing to it and it was one of his pet peeves. If it wasn't Orton, it was Sasha. And if it wasn't Sasha it was Orton or someone Authority-related. It just seemed to be that wherever Seth went he was surrounded by people who only wanted him for their own selfish reasons. He headed up into the lobby and up to his hotel room. He frowned in confusion as the lift doors opened to an empty hallway. He was expecting to find Orton leaning against the door, waiting for him. His usual smug look on his face. A wave of relief came over the Shield member as he made his way towards his room and unlocked the door. The fact that no one was bothering right now meant that he was going to take whatever that meant and run with it. Of course he knew that it wasn't going to last but that didn't seem to bother him. For now he was just going to relish in the fact he was finally able to get some alone time. No matter how short.

"Hello, room service, please."

"Good afternoon sir, what can I do for you this evening?"

"I'd like a bottle of Whiskey, two tubs of Ben Jerry's and the entire fifth season of NCIS and the third season of Doctor Who please."

Now was the perfect time to nerd out. He didn't have any 'Meet and Greets', no CrossFit workouts and no Shield planning which meant that he was going to watch as many episodes of his favourite TV shows as possible.

"Anything else, sir?"

"Yeah, actually. Season 4 of Game of Thrones and Season 3 and 4 of The Walking Dead and two racks of ribs please."

"I'll have that for you right away, sir," the man told him, hanging up.

Seth quickly took a shower and emerged just in time as someone knocked the door. Wrapping a towel around his waist, Seth headed over the door and quickly pulled his damp hair into a bun. He opened the door to reveal none other than Randy Orton.

"What the devil are you doing here?" Seth asked, not happy with the intrusion.

Orton held out his hand and waited for Seth to take it.

"Now you want a truce?"

* * *

><p>Paige slammed into the wall opposite Barrett's hotel room as Kane continued the beat down of the Bad News anchor. She could the sound of Kane throwing him across the room and a loud thud caused her to jump. She was still in shock that Kane had decided to burst in their room that she hadn't realised she was standing in the middle of the hall stark naked. Barrett let out a loud groan as he was thrown across the room, smashing the coffee table in the room to pieces. Paige jumped and moved down the hall, her back still against the wall opposite.<p>

"Well, isn't this awkward?" a voice came from behind her.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, jumping out of her skin.

Her heart skipped a few beats and she felt her skin go cold as she turned to see Orton and Seth staring at eyes wide with shock. Thankfully, there was a hotel cart a few doors down and she quickly grabbed a towel to save herself more embarrassment. She wrapped the material tightly around her and brought her loose hair over one of her shoulders.

"Don't say another word," she said as Orton went to speak.

"Ooh touchy," he smirked, holding his hands up in the air, "Don't worry, as much as I'd like to stay and take in more of this…magnificent view I've got other business to attend to. I'm just here to tell Sethy boy here that the deal we sorted is done," he told her, turning back to Seth and taking Seth's hand.

Before Seth could even reply, Orton gave a quick shake of Seth's hand and walked past Paige heading into Barrett's room, closing the door behind him.

"What was that about?" she asked, pointing to Barrett's hotel room.

Seth just shook his head. To tell the truth, he had no idea himself but he wasn't going to tell her that. He didn't see the point, he wasn't sure if she was going to believe him.

The two stood in silence, Seth trying to avoid staring at Paige as she stood opposite him in one of the shortest towels he had ever seen. Of course, she just picked up the first one she could grab so it wasn't her fault, but that didn't help the situation at all.

"Do you want to come in?" he finally asked.

Nodding, Paige headed over to him and slipped into the room as Seth closed the door behind her.

"I'm not even sure I want to ask what happened," Seth said as he emerged from his bedroom a moment later with a t-shirt in his hand.

"To be honest, I don't really know. One minute I was with Wade and the next I was standing in the hall watching Kane beat the shit out of him."

Seth stood up and headed over to the small table room service had wheeled in, trying not to picture what had happened a few moments ago.

"Kane? Why was he there?"

"No clue," Paige shrugged, "I figured he must have followed us or seen us when we came into the hotel. It scared the shit out of me."

Seth turned to face her and he could see she was still shaking . He imagine the image of Kane standing over them after kicking the door down would have scared anyone. He sat down next to her, sliding a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"You can stay with me for as long as you like," The Architect offered, softly running his hand up and down her arm.

"As much I want to take you up on that. I've gotta get my stuff and get back to Sasha. She's probably wondering where I am. Plus, I've got an interview with Renee later."

Seth sighed as Paige stood up and headed towards the door, but Seth grabbed her hand.

"At least stay for something to eat?" he asked, pointing at the table, "I think I ordered too much."

The Diva hesitated before nodding and smiling.

"What is it with you men when it comes to food? You always think with your belly rather than your head."

"I suppose we've just got a growing appetite to keep settled," Seth joked.

"More like your ego."

* * *

><p>Stephanie sat opposite her husband watching him as he continued to pace back and forth. He had been doing so for the last half an hour and it was beginning to agitate her. She hated it whenever he got into one of these moods. She was never able to tell what he was thinking. It was until his "secret plan" was finally in motion did she know what all the office pacing had helped him to come up with. She told him time and time again to tell her but he never did. Mainly because he knew she had other business to attend to and by the time he had finished pacing, he already thought of a lot of whatever plan he had come up with, so he knew that she wasn't going to be any help. But in Steph's eyes that wasn't an excuse or the point. Sighing, The Million Dollar Princess stood up and headed over to the filling cabinet just behind her. Just as she pulled open of the drawers, her personal assistant, Jane, knocked on the door.<p>

"I'm sorry to bother you," she smiled, softly.

Stephanie glanced at her husband, who was still pacing, and gave a slight shake of her head before turning her focus back to her PA.

"No, it's fine. Don't mind him. What can I do for you?"

"You asked me to tell you when Nikki Bella had arrived."

Immediately, Hunter came to a stop and frowned at his wife. Why on earth would she want with Nikki Bella?

"Where is she?" Steph asked, pretending she hadn't noticed Hunter's confusion that flooded his face.

"Thank you, Jane. I'll be right there," Steph told her, pulling out a file in the drawer.

Hunter went to ask what Steph had planned, but he didn't get the chance as she pushed the drawer shut and let without so much as a goodbye.

"You want me to what?" Nikki exclaimed, jumping out of her chair.

"Sit down, Miss Bella," Stephanie said, rolling her eyes.

Nikki took a moment and held her boss' gaze before slowly sitting down.

"Listen, I'm not asking you to give me an answer right now. Why else do you think I had these plans written up? I know what it's going to require of you and I'd suspect that you would want some time to think about it. How about you take a few days to think about? That way you can look up what's written and then you can get back to me."

Nikki frowned and looked at the envelope lying on the table. She couldn't believe or even understand why Stephanie had asked her to do such a thing. She had heard the rumours that Stephanie was a little rash when it came to business deals, but this was something else entirely. Could she really do it? Fulfil what Stephanie was asking of her? She couldn't seem to speak instead she nodded and sat in silence.

"Great!" Stephanie smiled, holding out the envelope on the desk, "The details of what we've discussed are in all there."

"_Discussed?_" Nikki thought to herself, _"I've just sat here for the last twenty-five minutes and listen to you talk to me!"_

"I'd appreciate it if you gave it a very through read over, you might find something in there to your liking. Please don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions or need to discuss anything in more detail."

The Total Diva felt her skin grow cold as she reached for the envelope and caught Stephanie's gaze. There was something about her eyes and her smile that put the former Diva's champion on edge. And whatever it was, she didn't like it. She went to pull the envelope from Stephan's grip, but she tightened her hold pulling it towards her slightly.

"There's one thing I have to ask you to take into consideration, Miss Bella," Stephanie began, her voice cold and too calm for Nikki's liking, "A lot of things are going to happening very soon and you have to ask yourself this: Which side are you prepared to stand on to do what's best for business?"

**AN: And there we have it. Hope you enjoyed that chapter! Stay tuned I've got a lot of crazy things planned for this story. Don't forget to leave a review and add to your favourites. It really helps out. **

**For more on the Seven Deadly Sins Series be sure to check out: **

**"Envy" by MellyxBrooks**

**"Insanity" by Cody'sxFavoritexGirl**

**"Temptation" by xeloquentangelx**

**And the story that is at the heart of this Deadly Series: "Pride" by RonTheRonin. **

**See you next chapter! **

**XxPikaSixJoyxX**


	8. Too Caught Up

**AN: Hey guys, here we are with chapter eight! It's finally Christmas break so I can finally get my head into writing and uploading stories. **

**I'm looking forward to the next few chapters I have. **

**Well, without further ado. **

**Here's chapter 8! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter Eight<strong>

**Eight Days after Extreme Rules**

"Are you still watching this?" Dean asked, as he entered the dressing room.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"You know if you keep watching that, it'll end up brainwashing you and the next thing we know you'll be going around saying it like a Walker for the rest of your life," Dean smirked, holding his arms out in a zombie like state, "Adapt or perishhhhh. Adapt or perishhhhh."

"Alright, alright, I get it," Seth sighed, rolling his eyes as he paused the Evolution promo he had spent the last few days watching.

Dean walked past him and headed over to the mini fridge at the back of the room, grabbing a bottle of water.

"Hey, pass me one," Roman said as he finished pulling his long hair into a bun.

Dean nodded, throwing a bottle across the room towards Roman, who caught it mid-air.

"Nice catch," Dean smiled, opening his bottle and grabbing the tv remote from Seth's hand.

"Hey!" The Architect squeaked.

"What? I'm still halfway through Season 4, man. I've got some catching up to do," Dean said, giving his brother a cheeky grin as he changed the channel.

For some reason, he couldn't seem to get the _"Adapt or perish"_ line out of his head. He had spent the last week watching it over and over. He thought that maybe he'd be able to figure out Hunter's weakness or a way of staging some kind of blind attack the next promo where the three veterans entered the squared circle, but the moment he started watching his original plan went out of the window. He got caught up in the words. _**Too**_ caught up. Why? He had no idea. Maybe it was because he knew it was about The Shield. Or because it was rung some truth. Whatever it was, it had become his new addiction. The more he listened, the more connections he made. The more he realised that they couldn't afford to lose.

"You okay, bro?" Roman asked as he watched Seth space out.

"They humiliated us Monday night, and we let that happen. We let them to do that to us," Seth said as he started to pace up and down the room.

"We didn't know they were going to do that," Roman told him.

"That doesn't matter! What matters is we let it happen. We can't let our guard down when we're out there or even back stage. One moment of weakness and they'll have us. We can't let what happened on Monday happen ever again."

"That's why we challenged them to a rematch."

The Architect stopped and let out a frustrated groan.

"And you think that's going to stop them? A rematch? That won't stop them, Roman, and you know it won't."

The Samoan Thor ran a hand through his damp hair and slipped it into his pocket. Calm as ever.

"Listen, by the time Payback comes around and we're done with them they won't want to come after us."

"And if they do?" Seth retorted, "Are we just going to keep challenging to rematch after rematch after rematch? "

Seth held his brother's gaze and watched as he contemplated what he was going to say. He knew that whatever Roman was going to say was going to be some calm, soft reply and right now he didn't want to hear it. Without even giving Roman time to answer, he stormed out of the room. He didn't want to hear someone talk to him like he was a kid throwing a tantrum and he wasn't in the mood or the right state of mind to listen to Roman try to calm him down. He wanted to punch someone, specifically someone involved with the Authority. He couldn't understand how everyone was acting so calm. It was as if he was the only one who even gave a damn. He couldn't seem to understand how they couldn't grasp that the situation between Evolution and The Shield was not a relaxing kind of situation.

* * *

><p>"<em>Who gave you permission to film me? The Queen of Film?" Alicia screeched, spitting in Renee's face.<em>

"_I, urm…I don't really kn-"_

"_Of course you don't know! You're blonde!"_

_The Diva seized a handful of Renee's hair and brought it to her nose, inhaling the scent and taking a bite. _

"_Is this even blonde? It sure doesn't taste like it."_

_Before Renee could reply, Alicia had thrown her to the floor and turned to face the camera. _

"_Now, you listen to me, vampire girl, my Silver cup that you're holding needs to come back to mummy now. So you better watch out because it's time for you to be embarrassed." _

* * *

><p>Paige smiled as she shook her head, she had just finished watching Alicia's…interview with Renee Young and was preparing her bags ready for the journey to a house show tomorrow. She finished packing the Diva's championship and reached for the remote taking one last look at Alicia's crazed expression on her face and chuckled, which she soon replaced with a look of concern.<p>

"Goddammit! How many more times do I have to explain this shit?"

The Diva jumped and turned towards the door, pulling it open to see Seth storming down the hall. He stopped at a box and kicked it in frustration.

"Wow, someone seems angry," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, no shit," he snapped, not realising who it was that talking to him.

"Whoa, what got your hair dye in a twist?"

Seth looked up and saw the Diva staring at him, waiting for an answer and he just shook his head. The less people who knew about this, the better. He couldn't risk people getting involved and trying to tell him what they think he should do. He had had enough of that. More than enough.

"Word of advice, Paige, when people start treating you like shit, take matters into your own hands."

Before she could even reply, Seth had already disappeared down the corridor and out of sight.

* * *

><p>Seth returned to his apartment and threw the door open in a fit of rage. He had reached boiling point. He was done doing everything for them. It was like that little girl said at the Mania "Meet and Greet" he is The Shield. So why did he not feel like it? He had done everything for Dean and Roman. Everything, planned every match, got their ring gear, even the masks they wore for Mania, the idea for the camera backstage. It was all him and not once had they bothered to thank him, to give him what he wanted. No, instead they pushed him aside for their own agendas.<p>

Dean was too busy being interested in Emma and Roman, the Samoan Thor, had taken Sasha from him, not to mention, his weekly "meetings" with AJ. It was clear to say that the hate for them was building. They were no longer his brothers. Brothers wouldn't do what they had done. It seemed like they were more interested in what Seth only saw as distractions rather than taking down Evolution and achieving their goals together. They had promised that no matter what they were going to rise together. Even when Dean had won the US title, he had promised to stick with them. And he had broken that promise, they both had. Seth picked up the glass statue Sasha had brought him for a present and launched it at the wall, letting out an almighty scream as it smashed into a million pieces.

Where had things gone wrong? Or had they gone wrong? Maybe it was just the start of something that was inevitably going to happen sooner or later. Seth was so confused, but the more he thought about it, the more he realised that he actually wasn't. It was beginning to make sense to him. It was just a matter of him deciding which route was the best thing for him to take. It was time he started thinking about himself.

"_After all, since when have they ever done anything for me?"_

What had Roman and Dean done for him? He sat down on a chair and sighed. He couldn't afford to think about things like this right now. He had Evolution to take down, an egotistical corporate twat and his bald henchmen to prove wrong. It was more than just simple "enter the ring and win". This was a battle of generations. He was going to prove that they were better than Evolution, that they couldn't be tamed.

* * *

><p>"She called you back that quick?" Hunter asked, the shock clearly evident in his voice.<p>

"Yep," Stephanie nodded, "I said the exact same when Jane told me she was on the phone. No less than an hour after she had left the office."

"What did she say?"

"That my proposal had given her the opportunity of a lifetime and she wasn't going to let anything stop her."

The COO nodded in satisfaction, clearly happy with the business deal his wife had secured. It was the first step on The Authority's climb back to the top and he was determined to make them more powerful than ever before. He was fed up with them being so easily defeated that he was going to make it sure it was impossible to take them down. There was no other way about it. He to admit, the news that Nikki Bella was now joining "Team Authority" pleased him a lot more than he had expected. Mainly because he had spent the last few weeks being out-smarted by The Shield, but now the tables had turned. He was going to out-smart them.

"Have you gotten everything sorted then?" Stephanie asked, enquiring about whether Orton and Batista had finally put their million dollar baby rattles back in their prams.

The COO took a moment and waved his palm horizontally in the air. Stephanie didn't think too much of it. She knew he was going to get things sorted out sooner or later, just as long as it wasn't later. She could also see that mentioning it seemed to have anger him and she didn't want to push him any further. She much preferred being on his good side rather than his bad, not that she couldn't handle him, with everything that was happening at the moment it was the best thing to do right now.

Hunter felt like things were moving along, which was good, but it just wasn't good enough. He couldn't afford to have anything that wasn't set in stone. He opened his mouth to ask his wife a question only to be interrupted by the sound of arguing coming from the corridor. Rolling his eyes, Hunter stood up and sighed; he already knew who it was that was arguing, and headed in the direction of the voices. Just as he thought, Randy and Batista were nose-to-nose screaming at each other, fists clenched, veins popped, waiting for the other to throw the first punch. The COO had had enough, he wasn't going to allow two grown men to turn into lions and destroy thousands of dollars of equipment they had delivered no less than two months ago. He put his hand out by his side, motioning for Steph to stay where she was. He couldn't afford to have her end up in hospital over something so easily preventable. That wasn't what he needed right now. Not at all. He took a step out into the hall and had to duck as Randy had thrown a vase in Batista's direction, The Animal dodging out of the way as it passed his head. That was already one step too far. Jane, Stephanie's PA, let out a shriek as the glass object flew past her desk and hit the wall of a conference room, smashing into a million pieces.

"GODDAMMIT! THIS IS NOT AN ARENA! CAN YOU TWO PLEASE STOP LIKE 2 YEAR OLD FIGHTING OVER THE LAST DIAPER? I HA- I MEAN WE HAVE A COMPANY TO RUN HERE!

The two veterans looked at each other and back at their former mentor and friend before nodding and relaxing from their stances. He was right, this wasn't an arena. It was a building where business was made, deals were stuck and lives were changed. And here they were acting like babies who couldn't get their own way. The embarrassment flushed across their cheeks as Hunter loosened his tie and headed towards the lift.

"Come with me," he ordered, pressing the call button.

The silence as the lift descended through the shaft was one of the tensest experiences Orton and Batista had ever found themselves in in their entire lives. None of them spoke as the doors pinged and Hunter exited the lift, the two of them close behind. He pulled open the door on the basement level they were on and led them into a vast room with different rings that were under maintenance. There were a few men working on a turnbuckle and they stopped to look at their boss who nodded and they slipped out under the bottom rope, heading off to another part of the room.

Pulling off his jacket, Hunter hooked it over one of the turnbuckles as he climbed the steel steps and stepped through the middle rope and into the squared circle. The other two members of the esteemed stable watched as he turned to face them and held out his hands on either side of him.

"Well, come on then," the COO gruffed, gesturing with his hands.

Orton stood there, confusion flooding his face, while Batista just scratched his head.

"Hunter, what are you doi-"

"What am I doing?" Hunter interrupted, "I'm making sure that the next time the two of you end up in the same room you won't end up beating the shit out of each other. I've had enough of you both launching into some shitty soap opera and throwing threats around like catchphrases. I don't need it and I don't want it. I feel more like a fucking father in charge of two brats than part of a team. Because that's what this is, or, at least, that's what it's supposed to be."

Batista went to say something but Hunter put up his hand, shaking his head.

"Dave, if you so as much as even think about that title shot I will personally make sure you never get to work in any form of professional wrestling for the rest of your life. So I suggest you shut up."

Randy glanced over at his colleague and smirked, trying to hold back his laugh.

"I don't know why you're smirking, Randy, I can easily do the same to you," Hunter snapped, clearly pissed off, "I don't know if you idiots remember but we happen to have a rematch against The Shield in less than two weeks, which I intend to come out on top of."

"So here's the deal," he began as he exited the ring, picking up his jacket as he passed the steps, "You either sort you're problems out right now or you find yourselves another job in a completely different sector."

And with that the COO left his two friends in the middle of the squared circle to figure out exactly whose side they were on.

* * *

><p>"Well, well, well, look who it is," Charlotte said as Paige headed out of William Regal's office.<p>

Paige had just made the decision to vacate the NXT Women's championship now that she was Diva's champion. She didn't feel it was right to hold both. Not that she wouldn't have been able to handle the competition from both divisions, when you have two crazy chicks after your title it's better to keep a level head and sedate them first in the best way you can. She had to admit it was a slightly emotional handing over her NXT title because she had worked so hard to get it, but holding the Diva's title made it all the more worthwhile because she wasn't giving it up for the possibility of being Diva's champ. Because she was the Diva's champion. She was the head of the division. Everyone was going to be after her now, so it was vital that she had to keep a level head.

"Charlotte, unless you're here to congratulate me I don't really have anything else to say you but to shut up and move along," Paige told her, even though she knew it was pointless.

Charlotte was going to say something anyway. She always did want to try and have the last word.

"I would congratulate you, but you're decision to…"vacate" the Women's title has just guaranteed me what I already knew would happen, so I should really thank you for that. You've helped me a lot more than you know," she smiled.

Shaking her head, Paige turned to face the second-generation Diva and closed the distance between them.

"The only thing I "helped" you with, Charlotte," Paige began, spitting her name, "is that I made it easier for to you get to the top because we both know that if I was still here, there would be no way that you would ever become champion."

A cool smile worked its way onto the Brit's face as she could see the fury burn in Charlotte's eyes and part of her wanted to laugh. It was ridiculous how she thought that just by having the same blood and name as a WWE Legend that it was guarantee her straight to the top. Paige would happily punch that into the woman if she had to. Very happily. Sure, she could wrestle but that was about it.

"Are you sure about that?" Charlotte asked, stepping towards the Diva.

"Oh, I'm more than sure. Not to mention, stepping inside the ring with you is already and injury hazard so I'd rather not risk any injury right now," Paige smiled, turning and heading down the hall.

"Oh, I should wish you good luck, but then why would I need to do that?" Paige called as Charlotte stormed off, mumbling under breath.

"You know I've gotta say it's such a shame that Sasha couldn't make it. I do remember her mentioning something about some bitch who wore black who had….what was it…sucked up to get that roster debut, but I'm sure she was talking about someone else. It's a shame knowing that people will almost anything to get to places in this business. When really they should just be telling themselves that they're never going to be good enough," Charlotte called, smirking.

Paige stopped and headed back down the hall, stopping just inches from Charlotte's face.

"Just because you have the same surname as "Daddy Dearest" doesn't mean I won't kick your arse right now," Paige growled, her voice as cold as ice.

"You know I'd like to see you try."

Paige held her gaze and raised the Diva's title to her cheek so Charlotte could see it from the corner of her eye.

"Oh, honey, I don't need to try when it comes to you. Hornswoggle could beat you and you'd still be just as shit."

Realising that she had no comeback, Charlotte backed off and tried to hold herself high, but it was useless.

"The next time you want to go making up shit make sure you say things that sound likely to have come from other people's mouths."

It was always fun annoying her, but she meant it. Something that Seth had said to her the day he bumped into her had stuck.

"_When people start to treat you like shit, take matters into your own hands."_

But were people treating her like shit? She thought back to the reception she had received as she walked into the Performance Centre earlier and not one person said hello to her. Not even those who she used to talk to almost every day during her days on the NXT roster. It was weird; she left like an outcast, but she had been there at the same time as everyone else. Working with them every day, trips out, they had become like family. It wasn't as if she hadn't told people she was coming and what she was doing. Regal had announced it to the roster that morning. Yet, why did she feel as if she was Scar walking through Pride Rock?

It was just a case that she had been given her opportunity earlier than the others. Was that so wrong?

"_Well, if this is how people are going to be every time I come, I might as well just let them get on with it," _she thought to herself as she headed for the car park.

The one person who has surprised her the most was Sasha. She hadn't seen the Diva since she returned from Seth's the other night. No texts, calls, nada. It was very odd. From as far as she could tell, she seemed to be okay. But then, Sasha barely told anyone whenever she had problems. It was one of the reasons they were best friends, they were too alike. She figured that whatever it was, it had to be important or she'd forgotten. Shaking it off, Paige spotted Jojo coming out of the bathroom and ran up to her.

"Oh my gosh! Paige!" Jojo smiled, pulling the Diva into a large hug.

"I'm glad someone's glad to see me."

Jojo frowned, a little confused.

"Oh, did you bump into Charlotte?" she asked.

"Ahh, she's nothing. I can handle her no problem. It's nothing, never mind. Have you seen Sasha?"

Paige wasn't the kind of woman to beat around the bush. She hated people who avoided situations and all that jazz.

"She didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"She said she had to take Becky to the airport and then she was going home. She said she'd left a message on your phone, maybe it didn't go through. She won't be here until tomorrow."

Paige pulled out her phone and checked her messages. It wasn't like The Bo$$ at all. She made a mental note to call her later and check-in, before slipping her phone back into her pocket.

"Do you want me to tell her you stopped by?" Jojo asked, not realising that Paige was already making her way across the car park.

Something seemed up, but there was no point in thinking on it, she other things to deal and worry about right now. One simple thing like this could easily affect her game and it wasn't the time or the place to be worrying about that. Mainly in the form of two grown women both with serious mental health issues.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope you guys like that chapter. I'm hoping to go quite dark in these next few updates. I won't put a time limit on when I'll next update because I'm terrible at sticking to them. I'll try and update as soon as I can. Hehe! Please don't forget to leave a review and favourite, it really helps out. Thanks to all those who have reviewed and stuck with me so far. Thanks guys!<strong>

**For more on the Seven Deadly Sins check out the following: **

**"Envy" by MellyxBrooks**

**"Temptation" by xeloquentxangelx**

**"Insanity" by Cody'sxFavoritexGirl**

**and of course, the story that started it all: **

**"Pride" by RonTheRonin**

**See you next chapter guys!****XxPikaSixJoyxX**


	9. Time to Change Your Fate

**AN: Hi guys! Here we are with chapter nine! I wasn't too sure with the last third of this chapter, which is why it's taken me so long to get this up. I wanted to make sure that I did it justice and to the best of my ability. I'm still not too sure about it, if I'm honest, so reviews are definitely going to be needed. **

**The Road to WrestleMania's begun, Barrett's champion again! I'm so happy! And Seth is in the Main Event! Not too sure how I feel about that, but I'm sure it's going to be a great match. As long as Brock doesn't injure him or give him the 16 suplex treatment. **

**Well, anyway, here is chapter nine!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

"Me? You need to take a look at yourself first," Sasha snapped.

"I already have and the last time I looked I was Diva's champion, "Paige said, glancing at the title she held on her shoulder, "Oh, why don't you look at that? I still am."

The Boston native shook her head and smiled. She couldn't understand how Paige had turned so cold. It was as if winning the Diva's championship had changed the British Diva and it frustrated her. She had been so close to the Brit ever since they had been in NXT and here they were arguing away. She had already been through more than enough as it was. The last thing she needed was one of her closest friendships breaking down. In fact, neither of them needed this right now, but here they were.

"Wow, that's the road we're going down is it? Why am I not surprised?"

"Oh come on, as if you were expecting anything else," Paige retorted.

Sasha frowned and tucked a strand of her behind her ear.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Taking a few steps back, Paige couldn't help but laugh.

"Did you honestly think that I was going to apologize and we'd go back to being besties? You, of all people, know I'm the apologizing type."

"No, you're type who easily turn into a stuck-up bitches."

Holding the gaze of the woman she had once called her friend Paige slowly clenched her fists and she began to slowly rock on her heels. No one called her a bitch, she was far from it. She was just a woman who could hold her own. She didn't need to apologize. What exactly was it that she was sorry for? The fact they hadn't spent time together, well, they were in different divisions now, leading different lives. It was as simple as that.

"You're one to talk. Where were you the day I handed over my NXT title? Spending time with a certain Samoan, were we?"

"_Thanks for the reminder," _Sasha thought to herself, rolling her eyes.

To tell the truth, she didn't really know where she stood with either of them. Things between her and Seth were still up in the air. Neither of them really knew where they stood. She didn't need Paige bringing it up when she had no idea what was going on herself. And then Roman, well…he was a whole other kettle of fish.

"And so what if I was? What's it to you?" The Bo$$ replied, folding her arms.

"It's just incredible, considering how you moved on so quickly. I mean, one Shield member wasn't enough, you needed take over the reign. Sooner or later, I'm going to end up hearing you're with hung out the unstable man. There's a word we use for people like you back home. It's urm…oh yeah, a slag."

The force behind Sasha's slap caused one of the stage hands walking past to stop and look at the two Diva's. Sasha glanced in the man's direction and he quickly sped off around the corner and out of sight. She wasn't expecting that at all. The air felt different, not awkward or tense but just…different. Things had changed between them; there was no going back now.

"I guess Charlotte was right. She did say that someone had said that I was the one who had…sucked up to get to where I was but I guess it turns out she was talking about the wrong woman…or should I say the wrong bitch."

Sasha had done it; she leapt at the Diva only to be taken off her feet by cold metal slamming her face. She groaned and rolled onto her side, cupping her face with her hands. She could feel Paige's shadow looming over her as the Diva hooked the belt over her shoulder, gazing down at her former friend. This was what they had become now. This was how they were going their separate ways. Any kind of amicable "break-up" was gone.

"Well, I bet you've never had someone else on top, huh? That's gotta be a first and hopefully it won't be the last," Paige stated coldly before heading off down the hall and leaving Sasha on the cold floor alone.

She headed around the corner stopped at a vending machine, ordering a Fanta. Pepsi just wasn't her cup of tea. Neither was tea if she was honest, not all Brits drink tea and eat crumpets all day.

"Well, that was some display you did over there. You don't seem to take shit from anyo-"

Paige turned to look Charlotte and glanced at the belt she had wrapped around her waist.

"Surprised, are we?" Charlotte asked, taking notice of Paige's glance.

The Brit didn't say anything; she just bent down to retrieve her order from the draw at the bottom of the machine.

"I have to say if you hadn't have vacated this baby when you did I wouldn't be here with it around my waist, but I have to wonder if there was another reason as to why you decided to even give it up in the first place."

Opening the can and taking a swig, Paige adjusted the title on her shoulder and turned to face the blonde opposite.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"It's simple. You couldn't handle the pressure," Charlotte replied.

"Excuse me?"

Smirking, Charlotte rested her arm on the vending machine and crossed one of her feet in front of the other.

"You're young, new to the main stage, it's no surprise you wouldn't be able to handle the pressures of holding two titles at once. You may be fooling everyone else into thinking that you "gave" it up because it was the right thing to do, but I can see through that tiny little skull of yours and I have to say there's not much in th-"

"Whatever you're trying to say just say it," Paige interrupted, clearly not in the mood to listen to the holder of the NXT Women's title go on.

The blonde tucked a strand of her behind her ear and chuckled. She always did get a kick out of annoying the Doc Martins off the young Brit, but then it wasn't as if Paige didn't enjoy throwing the "Flair's your daddy and that's the only reason you even got into the business card either." It annoyed her more than anything else in the business because Charlotte was determined to prove that she was more than just someone who had gotten to where she was because of her father. Yet, it seemed to be something that was going to follow her wherever she went. But, it didn't bother her. She was going to use that to her advantage, as best as she could.

"Wow, do you really need me to spell it out for you?" Charlotte asked, slightly surprised, you really aren't as clever as I thou-"

"Just say it already, dammit!" Paige snapped.

"Okay, okay, calm down. I just thought that as someone with a woman of your….talents you'd have done a lot more to keep yourself at the top. But I guess the rumours are true, maybe there's another reason that Triple H took a liking to yo-"

The NXT Women's champion didn't get to finish her sentence as Paige had lashed out with her leg and kicked the blonde in her gut. Charlotte's legs gave way and she fell to her knees, gasping for air. Placing her Diva's title on the top of the machine, Paige knelt down and seized a handful of Charlotte's locks, yanking her head back to look into her blue eyes.

"You know, there was a time before when I probably would have just said something to shut you up and walked off but now…now I'm fed up with hearing shit from you," Paige growled her voice cold as ice.

She pulled Charlotte up to her feet and grabbed a hold of her face with her other hand.

"Now, I'm just taking matters into my own hands."

Before Charlotte could even open her mouth to reply, Paige smashed her head into the vending machine, grabbing her as she reeled back in pain. She used the momentum to swing Charlotte into the RamPaige and brought Charlotte's head to the concrete ground with an insufferable amount of force. It was sure to put her in a coma but Paige didn't care. She was done with being passive aggressive, now was the time for action. To take matters into her own hands and that was exactly what she was doing. She turned and grabbed hold of her title from the top of the vending machine, before heading back to look at Charlotte's unconscious body.

"I don't take shit from anyone. Not anymore."

* * *

><p><em>Adapt or perish. 24 hours. Do what's best for business. <em>

"Fuck this shit!" Seth screamed as he launched his phone across the room, not caring where it landed.

He couldn't be dealing with this. He was supposed to be planning how to take them down, and yet they had come to him with this proposal. Why him? Why not Dean or Roman? What did they see in him that they didn't in his brothers? Weakness? Strength? He had no idea, but he now had 22 hours to decide on what to do. Forget what was best for business, what was best for him? For The Shield. He sighed and continued pacing the ring Hunter and Randy had left him in. He fell to his knees and sighed. He felt so caught up, so trapped. It was like he was standing at a fork in the road and he had now had to decide which way to go.

"_Oh, don't you worry Seth, because even at the end of the day, I still win." _

Seth frowned and dropped his head. He did worry, more than he should; surely a decision like this was simple to make? Easy? Yet, it was tugging at the very heart of him. He was thinking about far too much about it, what was he to do? For some reason, this choice he was being forced to make didn't seem easy. Not at all. It sure as hell didn't seem simple either.

"Pros and cons, Seth," he said to himself, "Pros and cons."

He figured that this was what it was going to come down to. Pros and cons, or did it? He had no idea. His brain was already thinking about far too much. Right now perhaps the best thing for him would be to get out of here and go somewhere he could think. Alone.

Standing up, the Davenport native headed back over to the punching bag and began to unload another round of furious punches into the sandbag. He carried on even though he could feel his knuckles beginning to ache and the tape that was wrapped around his hands start to unravel. His left fist connected with the bag and he hissed, jolting it back towards him. The skin around his knuckles were beginning to bleed but he just carried on. With each punch came a different thought, with each minute that passed came a different answer to the choice he was being forced to make. He had no idea what to make of it. What to make of himself. It didn't matter. 24 hours wasn't long. His legs gave out twenty-five minutes later, and he collapsed against the punching bag, his cheek resting against the cold leather that surrounded the bag.

Once he had regained his breath, Seth stood up and his phone vibrated. He frowned and pulled it out of his pocket to see that he had another text message.

"_Need some help? WWE Network. One hour."_

It was from Hunter. He gave a sigh, remembering that Hunter was going to be giving a press conference on the development of the Shawn Michaels incident. Why he needed to watch that boggled him? He quickly gained his breath and headed into the showers. He emerged a few minutes later and quickly got changed. Time seemed to be running extremely slowly and the former Tag Team champion had found himself wondering what to do. He needed to go somewhere to think, but he had no idea where. Grabbing his stuff, Seth headed up into the reception and stopped at the desk.

"Are you okay, sir?" beamed the young woman behind the desk.

"Where's the nearest bar from here?" he asked.

"Once you leave here, take a right, cross the road, turn left and it's on your left."

Seth nodded and headed out of the gym, following the woman's directions. It seemed to be whenever anyone in the WWE needed to be alone to think the first place they always went to a bar. He slid into a booth with his beer in his hand, and rested his head on the seat behind him. This was probably the first time he was able to have some time to himself. For the last few months all that had been going through his mind whenever he got a moment to himself, he was too busy focusing on planning for Shield matches. Even now, he couldn't actually relax.

He was sitting trying to decide on what to do and which side he was going to be on in the next 24 hours. He had no words. Taking a swig of the Budweiser he had paid for, Seth pulled out his phone and loaded up the Network. As much as he knew that he should not be watching this press conference he couldn't help it. It wasn't going to do him any good, but at the same time he felt like he should watch it.

"_Okay, I'm going to keep this brief, we know who did it, and we're going to make sure that they're punished, unless they decide to turn themselves in. Then we can discuss the situation and perhaps things can be sorted amicably. At the end of the day, all it comes down to is one choice. One simple choice, and sometimes it's in that one choice that we choose to do what's best for business and change our fate. It's amazing how much satisfaction one can get from the contents of an envelope."_

Seth frowned and took a few moments to figure out what it was Hunter was referring to. He downed his beer, ran out of the bar, and sprinted back to his parked rental outside of the gym. It took him a while to open the door because he was fiddling around with his keys.

"Dammit, come on Seth!" he shouted, scaring a couple who were walking past.

He finally opened the door and jumped across the seat, reaching for the glove box. He pulled out the envelope Randy had given him all that time ago. He gave it a light shake and placed his phone on the dashboard. He didn't really know why he had kept it all this time, there was a part of him that felt he could use it as a bargaining chip, but now it seemed that the tables had turned.

"Well, here we go," Seth said as he turned it over and ripped open the back.

Pulling himself into the driver's seat, Seth turned the envelope upside down and a small coin fell into his hands. The Architect frowned and it suddenly hit him that he was the bargaining chip. This entire plan was now on his shoulders. He was the final piece, so to speak. But in whose jigsaw was he going to place his piece?

* * *

><p><strong>Payback – After The Shield vs Evolution<strong>

It was no surprise that The Shield were going to come out on top. The strategy they had planned a few hours before the show had worked out perfectly. The match had gone exactly how they wanted. Of course, Evolution had gotten a few shots in here and there, but it didn't waver the strength the three brothers had. It was much stronger than any of the veterans had anticipated. Seth already knew that they weren't exactly seeing eye-to-eye backstage and so they had found a way to use that to their advantage.

The fury in Hunter's face as they stood there in the middle of the squared circle, _**his **_circle, fists connected, declaring themselves the victors. He held his gaze with Seth until he disappeared behind the curtain shoving Batista and Randy in front of him.

"This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. You couldn't keep it together for one damn night! All my plans are go-"

Batista stopped and turned to face his former boss. Dave had decided to quit ten minutes before their match, which coincidentally threw all of the COO's plans out of the window.

"I don't give a damn about your stupid plans, Hunter, I want what is mine!" The Animal interrupted, "You promised me a title, instead it's now in the hands of some little goat-man fur ball who only seems to say a three letter word every time he opens his damn mouth! A word I am now sick to death of hearing."

"Hear, hear," Orton agreed, only to be greeted with a death stare by Hunter.

"Dave, listen, I know I ow-"

"Save it, Hunter. I don't want to hear another one of your shitty calm down speeches. I'm outta here. The only time I want to hear from you is when you've finally decided on giving me what is mine, until then we are no longer friends."

The silence that passed as Dave's footsteps faded away, as well as all of the plans Hunter had made the last few months, was more than Orton could take; all he wanted was to get back to his hotel room and sleep. He had dealt with his fair share of silences and tense moments the past few months.

"So…can I go then?" Orton asked, pointing down the corridor behind him.

"Just…do whatever. I need a drink," Hunter replied, waving him off before trudging down the hall, the smell of defeat emanating from the 13-time world champion.

Randy headed back towards his dressing room and caught sight of the two-toned Davenport native heading down the corridor. He'd have called the youngster, but decided against it. Instead, he sped up to him, grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him back into an area where there were a few storage boxes, blocking them from the view of anyone who walked past.

"What the hell?" Seth snapped, pulling his arm from Orton's grip to no avail.

"It's been more than 24 hours, what the hell's going on?"

"Are you freaking serious? I hav-"

"Don't give me that shit! You can't tell me that you haven't made up your mind, I don't buy that."

"Well, this isn't exactly an easy decision to make, Orton, so yeah, you better believe it alright?"

Randy rolled his eyes and shook his head. He couldn't understand how it could take someone so long to either say yes or no. It was simple.

"Then you haven't thought about it enough. Fuck everyone else. Forget about The Shield and The Authority, what do you want? Which side is going to be the best for you? Forget whatever Hunter and Dean or Roman have planned, you need to think about what is best for you. Look, I'm going to do something generous, and I very rarely do that, I'm gonna give you an extra two hours and that's it. Two hours, you got it?"

Seth nodded and pulled his arm again, but not before Randy shoved him a little and the two broke apart.

"Remember this isn't just about what's best for business, okay?"

Seth sat in his hotel room and flipped the coin he had pulled out from the envelope in his hands. He took a swig from his third beer and sighed. As much as he didn't want to admit it, The Viper had a point. He hadn't really thought about where he stood in all this. Well, he had, but not as much as he had liked. Mainly because he Triple H at his back, Dean and Roman at his sides calling, it was about time he finally thought about himself and where he stood in all this. What was actually best for him? Truthfully, he had known it from the beginning. He didn't need to explain it to himself, or anyone else for that matter. Besides, who could say whether they were going to understand his reasoning? He had to give Randy credit, he was right; it was really was that simple. So simple that actually felt kind of bad for taking as long as he did to decide. Of course, he could just say that he did that because he was too busy trying to come up with a strategy of how to take down Evolution, which he did. So, in a way, his decision was already a done deal. It didn't really need any thinking about at all.

He took one final swig of his beer and went to open another one, just as he pulled off the lid, just as he did his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Randy and a smirk eased its way onto his face as he picked up his phone.

Time was up, and as John Cena would say "My time is now."

"Yes?" he answered.

"Have you made your decision?"

**Monday Night Raw, Indianapolis – Night After Payback**

"We won because we're not just a team; we're brothers, and brothers always have each other's backs no matter what," Roman said as he placed his fist next to Seth's finishing their signature gesture.

"_You keep thinking that, Roman," _Seth said in his head.

Before The Samoan could even utter another word the Evolution theme hit the speakers and ran through the crowd. The Game emerged through the curtain, his sledgehammer in one hand, a microphone in the other, Orton followed a few seconds later, he too looking ready for a fight. Taking note of Hunter's choice of weapon, Seth slid out of the ring and grabbed a steel chair, readying himself to take them both out in case they should try anything. Or so they thought. The Architect locked eyes with The Game and readied himself as Hunter began to speak; he brushed aside whatever it was that Hunter was saying. He couldn't really care what the man had to say; as this was a moment he had been waiting for, for a very long time.

"It's like I always said though, at the end of the day, I always win. And if plan A doesn't work, then there's always a plan B."

And with that, Seth swung his chair and shattered the trust of his brother's but that of the entire WWE Universe watching.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So there we have it, it's happened. Seth has finally betrayed his brothers or has he? It's time for him to execute his revenge now. Please don't forget to add a review and add to your favourites, I really appreciate it. Also, thanks to all those who have reviewed so far. I love reading what you guys think! Excuse any typos or grammar errors I'm a sucker for not proof-reading. I usually do that after I post my chapters and then I have to go through the awkward stage of having to update chapters because of it. <strong>

**Before you go please don't forget to check out the other stories that make up The Seven Deadly Sins series: **

**- "Envy" by MellyxBrooks - the sins of The Miz**

**- "Temptation" by xeloquentangelx - the sins of Sasha Banks**

**- "Insanity" by Cody'sxFavoritexGirl - the sins of Dean Ambrose**

**And of course, the story that started it all "Pride" by RonTheRonin - for the sins of Roman Reigns.**

**See you next chapter guys!**

**XxPikaSixJoyxX**


	10. What Next?

**Hi guys, here we are with chapter ten! I have to say this is probably my favourite chapter that I've written. I had so much fun writing this. I hope you guys enjoy it! **

**The Royal Rumble's on Sunday, one of my favourite PPV's of the year! Can't wait for that! But until then here's chapter to keep you guys occupied until then. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten<strong>

The sound of steel hitting flesh rang through the air as the crowd gasped in shock. Dean's mouth fell open as he looked at his brother crumpled on the floor, groaning in pain. He turned to Seth, confusion flooding his face and before he could ask why Seth shoved the chair into his gut before slamming the cold steel up his back. The Davenport native turned his attention back to The Samoan Thor and continued his rampage on him, unloading chair shot after chair shot. He had never felt so alive before in his life. He could feel all the rage and frustration he had been holding back for so long finally begin to make itself known and he had to admit it felt great. He was finally free. Free of the two men who had taken him for granted for so long. He turned and grabbed the other chair and began unloading a number of shots against Roman's back. The sound only fuelling his anger even more, in fact, it wasn't anger he felt anymore. It was release. He had finally done was what best for him, of course, The Authority and Hunter had only given him the way out and he took it with everything he had.

The crowd stood in complete shock, silence ringing through the arena. No one could believe what had happened, but Seth had never felt so free before in his life. With every chair shot Seth felt as though he was releasing every little thing that had frustrated him, every "thank you" he had not received. Every hour he had spent working on a strategy on a match. To him, it was like he was back at the gym unloading punch after punch.

He stopped a few minutes later and turned to Dean, throwing the chair down on top of him. This was it. There was no going back now and he didn't want to. It was his time now. His time to show them and the world what he was made of and he was going to do just that. The Shield was no more and Seth couldn't have felt happier in his life. He took one last look at the crumpled heap of his former brothers who were laid out before him and he slipped out under the bottom rope and disappeared up the ramp with The Authority.

* * *

><p><span><strong>29<strong>**th**** June – Boston Airport – 2 Hours after Money In The Bank**

Seth smiled as he opened his beer and looked down at the briefcase resting on his lap and he couldn't have felt more proud of himself. He had to admit he was quite surprised that Hunter had even agreed to his demand of putting him in the match. Of course, he knew that he was going to win it anyway, it was just the fact he had managed to bribe, well…"bribe" the COO into doing something for him. He wasn't going to join The Authority if he wasn't going to get something out of it. He had done enough of that being with The Shield. A part of him felt a little weird, not being with Roman and Dean, but that was because they had been together for so long. Now, he was on his own and he had something to show for stabbing his former brothers in the back. But he didn't really stab them in the back; he just simply took an opportunity to get ahead. It was that simple.

Of course, there were going to be people who didn't understand that and that was okay, he didn't care about them or anyone else for that matter. The briefcase he now had on his lap was a testament to that. To taking the opportunities and buying in. He didn't need to explain that to anyone. Least of all The Shield. They were just going to have to accept that he wasn't going to give them the answers they wanted. He looked out of the small window as the plane continued its journey and he smiled as the sun beamed across the clouds as he flew out of Boston. Even now two hours after the Pay-Per-View it still hadn't him. He was "Mr Money In The Bank" and it was a guaranteed fact that he was going to be the WWE World Heavyweight champion. No doubt about it. Of course, he was going to make sure that he wasn't going to fall into the "Cashed in but didn't win" club unlike Sandow and Cena, who stupidly decided to allow Punk to rest up before cashing in. Seth couldn't help but laugh at the Boston native's failure.

"Sometimes, John, you gotta be mean to get the treasures," he said to himself.

Seth pulled out his phone and saw that he had a text from the Diva's champion Paige. She had successfully defended her title against Naomi, in a great match.

_Well, hello Mr Money in the Bank. Enjoying your flight? P x_

_Guess so, but the entertainment's not great. Got any ideas? S x_

_Aww that's a shame. I could have helped you out. P x_

_Oh yeah? You got some ideas then? S x_

_You could say that. I'd have been able to keep you very occupied. P x_

_I'll hold you to that. S x_

He'd have stayed in Boston, but with the way Dean had turned into creepy stalker 2.0 he couldn't do it. He needed to get away from that arena as soon as possible. He knew that Dean was crazy, but this was crazy on a whole other level. The guy was outright stalking him and no matter what he did, Dean was always there. It was worse than AJ, and no one was as crazy as the pint-sized Diva. Or so he thought. Seth was beginning to wonder just how much more of this he could handle. Every time he stepped outside he was looking over his shoulder, every time someone's shadow passed over him he was jumping out of his skin. Dean was slowly beginning to mess with his head and it wasn't what he needed or wanted right now. He needed to be as sane as possible, mainly because he knew that both Roman and Dean would be gunning for him. Not that he didn't think he could take them because he could. After all, he knew their strengths and their weaknesses like the back of his hand.

He took another swig of his beer and reached into his carry-on bag, pulling out a small envelope. He looked down at the very reason he was on this flight and slowly pulled out the letter inside. Thankfully, his two bodyguards, Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble, were sound asleep which gave him the time to read the letter he had been handed. Once he was done, he slipped the envelope back into his bag as quietly as he could. To everyone else on the roster, he was going home to Tampa for the day to see his family, but those who really knew he was going to arrange something that was sure to put him ahead of everyone else, as if he wasn't already. In The Architect's eyes, the less people who knew what he were up to, the better. And the only two people who really knew where he was going were Stephanie and Triple H and that was exactly how it was going to stay.

* * *

><p><span><strong>30<strong>**th**** June – Connecticut - Backstage Monday Night Raw **

"The fuck just happened?" Paige shrieked as she made her way down the corridors, pulling anything that was in her way to the ground.

She had just lost her Diva's championship. It was now in the hands of the tiny pint-sized crazy Diva that she had taken it from in the first place. What made it worse was the fact she had lost the title in the exact same way she had won the title. The Roll Up Pin of Doom. Just when she was finally beginning to make her mark on the division.

"Get the fuck out of my way!" she snapped as she continued her path down the corridor only to be stopped by Renee Young calling her name.

"Paige, do you think I could get your thoughts on wha-"

"You wanna know what I think? Do you really want to know?" Paige interrupted, storming over to the small Blonde.

"Sure, if it's no trouble," Renee smiled.

The young reporter could see that Paige was pissed so she knew she had to tread carefully if she was going to get her interview. Already catching on to what Renee was after, Paige snatched the microphone from the reporter and gave a cold smile.

"Here's what I think, Renee," Paige began, spitting her name, "I think that it would have been nice for someone to tell me that that crazy chick, the one everyone loves was on her way back into this company and more importantly that she could just walk in and have a shot at the Diva's championship, which was mine might I add, without so much as hello. Do you know how rude that is? And do you know what else I think? AJ should watch her back because it's only just began. Now if you don't mind I have somewhere else to be so I suggest you get that fucking camera out of my face before I smash it."

Paige waited until the cameraman had lowered the camera and the red light had faded before throwing the microphone in the air and skipped off down the corridor. Her mind was going in all sorts of directions. Her reign as Diva's champion had ended just as quickly as it had started and she felt empty without it.

She headed back into her dressing room and within seconds began throwing anything and everything she could grab. Whether it was a glass or her shoes, or even the tissues from a complementary box that had been left on the table, if it was in her hand, she was throwing it. She fell to her knees a few minutes later, out of breath and drained. It was still hard to comprehend. She was now the former Diva's champion. A sentence that sounded extremely odd to the Anti-Diva. Resting her head against the back of the sofa she was leaning against, Paige let out a defeated sigh. She kept thinking back to that moment AJ had forced her into the roll-up. She should have seen it coming. How she didn't was a question that she was going to be asking herself for days to come. Right now though, she needed to eat. She pulled into a McDonald's car park almost twenty minutes later. She needed to eat something and because of the time and the traffic, McDonald's was the only place that was open. She'd have gone through the drive-thru but she couldn't be bothered so she had taken a small booth at the back of the restaurant. She took a large bite out of her Sweet Chilli Chicken wrap and tried not to think about today's events.

This morning she woke up Diva's champion, now she was going to bed knowing that it was now in the hands of someone else.

"Fancy seeing you here," a voice came beside her.

The young Diva glanced up to see none other than Cameron standing with a takeaway bag in her hand.

"If you've come here to mock me or do some stupid childish shit that bitches down in school, don't waste your breath," Paige told her, taking a sip of her milkshake.

"Actually," Cameron began, sliding into the seat opposite, "I've come with a proposition."

Paige's eyes widened and she burst into laughter. The raucous sound echoing throughout the restaurant forcing people to look their way.

"I have only one thing to say to that," Paige smiled.

"Oh, and what's that?"

"Girl bye," waved the Brit as she continued eating her meal.

Scowling, Cameron opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by someone else.

"Well, maybe you might want to listen to me," Nikki Bella smiled as she sat down next to Cameron.

"You have got to be kidding me," Paige mumbled, "Can't a girl just eat her food in peace?"

"Not when I have something that will peak your interest."

"Well, you better hope that it's good because right now you're boring me to death."

Rolling her eyes, the Fearless Diva pulled out a file from her handbag and placed it on the table. Paige glanced at the file and shook her head.

"Look, just give it a read when you have the chance okay? That's all I'm as-"

"I don't give a shit what you're asking the answer's still no," Paige retorted, sliding the file back over to Nikki.

Seeing that she was getting nowhere Nikki nodded, picked up the file and laid out of the booth, gesturing for Cameron to follow.

"Well, I'll take that as my cue. Maybe we can meet again?"

"No chance in hell."

Paige waited until Nikki and Cameron had left and drove off before sighing and placing her head on the cold table. This had to be one of the worst nights of her life. Not only had she lost the Diva's title, she now had The Authority on her tail, and that just wasn't what she needed right now. She didn't want to be involved in all of that "Best for Business" shit because she didn't believe in any of it at all.

Sure, The Authority were in power and they could easily grant her a title shot, which she already had if she invoked her rematch clause, which she was going to as soon as. But there was something about them that she couldn't deal with. What that was she wasn't entirely sure, but she knew that aligning herself with them wasn't a good move. At least not right now it wasn't. She pulled out her phone and saw that she had a text from Seth.

_Need your help. Now. S_

_What's happened? P _

_Tell you when you get here. URGENT. S_

_On my way. P_

Stuffing the last few chips in her mouth, Paige ran across the car park, jumped into her rental and sped off back to the hotel.

* * *

><p>"Seth? Open up, it's me," Paige said as she knocked on the door.<p>

The door opened and the Money in the Bank holder stepped back to let the Diva enter, closing the door behind him.

"Is everything okay?" she asked turning around to face him.

"Yep, I have a bottle of Jägermeister I need help finishing," he smirked.

"You fucker!" Paige laughed, throwing a cushion at him, which he dodged.

"What?"

"You made think something bad had happened to you!"

Seth laughed and headed over to the mini fridge and grabbed the bottle of Jägermeister and returned with two glasses.

"Here," he said, handing her a glass he had poured for her.

"Thanks," Paige smiled.

"Listen, I know what's it like to lose a title, and I heard what you did to your dressing room at the arena. One of the stagehands grabbed me. Figured you might wanna drink."

Sighing, Paige slumped into one of the chairs and downed the glass in one gulp.

"Whoa, you're really not in a great mood huh?" he asked as he poured her another.

"Trust me, if only you knew."

"Believe me, I do."

"I just can't but think "What next?" I was at the top of the division and now someone else has my title. What do I do now?"

"You carry on," Seth answered, taking a sip from his glass, "That's all you can do. It's what you _**have **_to do, Paige."

"But what if I don't want to? All I want is my title back. What is _**mine**_."

Grabbing his chair and pulling it across the room so he was sitting opposite the Diva, Seth nodded and took another sip of his drink.

"I know, then what you do is you find the opportunity and roll with it. How else do you think I got where I am now? You need to find a way to get ahead. How you do that is up to you."

Paige smiled and poured herself another glass. She tilted her head and locked eyes with the Davenport native who sat opposite her. It was strange how well he understood her. Perhaps it was because she understood him in the same way.

"I don't think I've ever told you this, but I never saw you a sell-out, you know?"

Seth eyes widened a little and he shuffled in his seat, quickly pouring himself another glass. Seeing that her statement had taken The Architect aback, she leaned towards him and cupped his cheek.

"If that was me in your situation, I'd have done the same thing. The one thing I learned with this business ever since I was a kid is that you can't shit from anyone. You have to do things for yourself, because at the end of the day that's all that matters."

Pulling herself onto his lap, Paige swung her leg around the chair so she was straddling the former NXT champion. Their noses brushed and she could feel her cheeks flush red a little.

Seth slid his arms around the woman who was now sitting on his lap. They held each other's gaze, their breathing somehow in sync.

"A little birdie told me that you have a little crush on me."

"Oh, that bitch," Paige exclaimed, already knowing who he was talking about.

"Well, well, well. I guess the cat's out of the bag now," he laughed, placing a soft but electric kiss in the middle of the Diva's collarbone, "Well, let's just say that the feeling's mutual and it has been for a long time. How about that?"

Paige smiled, taking a light bite of Seth's ear that sent a shiver through his body.

"How's that for an answer?"

Hooking his arms around Paige, Seth stood up and carried her into the bedroom.

"I can de-"

Paige cut him off by taking him with a passionate kiss. Seth groaned, deepening the kiss by sliding his tongue into her mouth. They melted together and The Architect slid one around her and pushed her against the bathroom door, it opened and the two of them went into the small room hitting the shower wall. They broke apart, gasping for breath and realised where they were.

"So…about that shower?" Paige grinned.

"I've got it," Seth smiled, reaching for the taps and turning on the water before claiming her again with his mouth.

Paige let out a slight gasp as the cold water hit them, only to be hot a few seconds later as Seth turned on the other tap. He continued, ironically, showering her with kisses, before pulling off her shirt and threw it on the floor with his joining hers moments later. As he brought his lips to her neck, Paige grabbed hold of him and spun him around, pushing against him as his back hit the wall behind him. If Seth had known that this little Brit was going to be this kind of girl when it came to affairs of the bedroom, he would had her in here before now. The rest of their clothes joined the already damn heap on the floor and Paige gasped as she felt him slowly enter her. She knew just by the feel of him that she was going to be in for one hell of a night.

* * *

><p><strong>Backstage Monday Night Raw - 10:59pm<strong>

The dark figure stood over the unconscious body of Sasha Banks and a cool icy satisfied smile spread across their face. They had to admit, the way in which the NXT Diva had fallen was pretty satisfying. As they looked down at Sasha's face, the peaceful look on her face as she lay there with no clue as to who was her attacker. The figure knew that she was going to have almost little to no recollection of what had happened and they knew it was a job well done. The power that filled them as they pictured the Diva waking up in a hospital room with no idea of what had happened brought yet another dark smile to their face. It was just a shame they weren't going to be there to see it. Adjusting the hoodie, the figure took one last glance at the NXT Diva who lay underneath them and disappeared into the night. All the while knowing that they were the culprit behind an attack that was surely going to leave the Diva in a state that was going to take a long while to recover from.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So there we have it! Hope you guys enjoyed that, don't forget to leave a review and add to your favourites. I love hearing from you all. Also don't forget to check out the other stories in the Seven Deadly Sins series:<strong>

**"Envy" by MellyxBrooks**

**"Temptation" by xeloquentangelx**

**"Insanity" by Cody'sxFavoritexGirl**

**And the story that started it all..."Pride" by RonTheRonin!**

**See you guys next chapter!**

**XxPikaSixJoyxX**


	11. In My Way

**AN: So, here we are with chapter eleven! I have to say this is now definitely may favourite chapter of my story. I really put my heart and soul into it. I've covered quite a lot this chapter too. **

**Well, not much else to say but that I hope you like it!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven<strong>

"The damn bitch knows something. I can see it in her eyes. She's lying, Steph," Hunter huffed as he began to walk back towards the room.

"I know she is, but there's no way she's going to tell us, then we need to figure out the best way of getting it out of her. She's clearly not going to tell us anymore, so there's no point of going back in there because you'll just end up with the same result."

The COO wasn't listening. His main focus was getting as much information as possible. And if that meant asking someone who was still half-drugged up with morphine then so be it. He didn't care about anything else right now. The only person that came to mind was CM Punk, but why on earth would the former champion attack an NXT Diva? This was more than just a random attempt on someone who worked for the company. It was a statement to him, or at least that's how he saw it. Punk was clearly wanted his attention and he had no idea why. Well, he had succeeded but he was definitely going to feel the wrath of The Game.

"I hate it when you're right," he grimaced, as Stephanie walked past him.

"I'm your wife, I'm always right," replied the Billion Dollar Princess as she made her towards the exit.

Rolling his eyes, Hunter gestured for Kane, Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury to wait. He turned to glance back to see if Steph was still walking and pulled them into an empty room.

"Okay, so you know what to do?" he asked, as he closed the door, locking to make sure that no one would disturb them.

The three nodded and went to leave the room, but Hunter gestured for them to wait.

"And whatever you do, do not get caught and make sure that this has no way of getting back to me, or else you'll find yourselves working in a local Wendy's before you can even apologise. No get out of here."

The three henchmen quickly left the room and headed down the corridor, pressing the button for the lift. Hunter waited until they had entered the small box and decided to take the stairs. Thankfully, they were only a few floors up but that didn't matter. He knew Stephanie was going to ask what he was doing and he figured he'd tell her later when they were at home. He couldn't afford to have anyone eavesdrop on their plans. This had to stay between them. His main focus right now was finding that son of a bitch CM Punk, and making him pay for taking out one of his top NXT Divas.

* * *

><p><strong>July 21<strong>**st**** – Monday Night Raw – Southern Florida **

**Backstage Fallout**

"It was coming, I told her, Eden," Paige began, spitting the reporter's name, "I told her it was my house and she didn't believe me, 'kay? She did not believe a word I said and I told her not to underestimate me, okay, so before I get angry with you I'm going to walk away and enjoy the rest of my night, okay pumpkin? Alright and I really enjoy the skipping thing it's actually very exciting, you should try it out 'kay?"

She had to admit it was pretty nice, skipping away down the hall without a care in the world. There was something about the mode of transportation that was very liberating. Of course, in retrospect of what had just happened Paige was now going to be hated by everyone around her, not that it bothered her. She was done with being underestimated by the pint-sized Diva who was now holding her championship. The one thing that had been taken from her. It was as she had told AJ as she threw the Diva's champion into one of the poles outside of the ring it was her house. Just as she had done time and time again. No more being pushed aside, no more letting others try and take what was hers. This was Paige's time now and she was going to show everyone exactly why this was her house.

She skipped down the hallway and headed back into her dressing room. As she closed the door behind her, she saw the file that Nikki had tried to give her back in Boston, the night after Money In The Bank. Sighing, she picked it up and threw it on the coffee table in the middle of the room as she headed into the shower, emerging ten minutes in a pair of jeans, Doc Martins and a black "Think Again" t-shirt. Whoever said you couldn't wear your own merch when you weren't on TV? She swung her damp hair over one shoulder and picked up her phone, pulling up Instagram.

"What the fuck?" she shrieked, biting her fist to resist the urge of launching her phone across the room.

Of course, the first picture that had to be on her news feed was a picture of Seth with none other than the Diva she had taken out a few weeks ago and former best friend, Sasha Banks. It was only a few days before that did The Bo$$ upload a picture of herself and Roman at the exact same place. Paige stood up and stormed for the door, stopping herself and she realised what Seth was doing. He didn't need to tell her, but it was pretty clear. He was getting at Roman, what he hadn't realised was that he was pissing her off too. The young Brit made a mental note to make Sasha pay later and glanced over at the file on the coffee table.

"This girl just doesn't know when to quit, huh?"

She knew that Seth was working with The Authority and sure, she could understand why, but she didn't need them. She was the kind of woman who did things on her own. Perhaps, if their goals ever happened to cross then maybe but at the current moment, not right now.

She picked up the file and opened it, quickly scanning the details and burst into laughter.

"Nice try, but nope," she said to herself, closing the file.

Paige stood up and headed over to her bag pulling out a leaflet she had picked up a few days ago after leaving a salon. She figured it would be the perfect way of telling the Diva to piss off and leave her alone. She slipped the leaflet into the file, picked up her bag and headed into the hall, catching a stage hand who was walking by.

"Hey, can you give this to Nikki for me?" she asked, holding out the file.

The stage hand nodded and began to head down the hall.

"Actually, do you know I think I'll give it to her myself. I think it'll be better coming from me."

Taking back the file, the young Brit skipped off down the hall in search of the Fearless Diva. She found her with her sister, Brie, sitting at a table in Catering. Coming to a stop, Paige couldn't help but smile as she made her way over to the two Divas.

"Hey Nikki, I figured that I might give this back to you seeing as you clearly didn't get the message the first time," Paige told her as she dropped the file in the middle of the table.

The brunette frowned as she looked at the file before raising her head to look at the Diva standing in front of her.

"What is this?" Nikki asked, a little annoyed.

"My answer," Paige replied, skipping off down the hall.

Frowning the oldest of two sisters, opened the file and caught sight of the leaflet Paige had slipped into the file earlier.

"Is she serious?" Nikki shrieked, seizing the piece of paper, "Where did she go?"

"Why? What is that?" Brie asked, looking at the leaflet her sister was holding.

It was for breast reduction surgery. On the front Paige had written, _"Maybe you should downsize first before you ask me."_

"It's goddamn joke that's not funny. She better make sure she stays away from me. Because I'll be sure to rip every single hair out of her vampire head!"

Nikki slammed the leaflet on the table and let out a guttural shriek that made half of the roster in the catering to jump out of their skin. Curtis Axel, who was sitting at a table with Zack Ryder and Kofi Kingston, spilt his coffee down his gear; he jumped up, a wild painful shriek erupting into the area. Layla, who was fixing her make-up, ended up with a stripe of lipstick across her face making her look like The Joker as Nikki stormed off down the hall.

"What's her problem?" Wade asked as he walked past their table.

Brie just shook her head as the Bad News anchor picked up the leaflet and burst into laughter. He knew exactly who had left it for her and why. It wasn't that long ago that he had been dealt with by The Authority.

"Well, it's not everyday someone asks you to downsize," he laughed, handing the leaflet back to Brie, "I think you might want to make sure she gets it."

Disgusted, Brie screwed up the leaflet and threw it at the former Intercontinental champion. She stood up and almost killed him with the look in her eyes before following her sister.

* * *

><p>"Exhilarating," Seth answered, "There's something about knowing that I was the one behind that that just excites me. It makes the hair on my arms stand up, and while most people associate that with fear, I call it excitement. I was one the responsible for that. No one else can say they crushed the skull of Dean Ambrose into a pile of cinder blocks in front of the entire world. No one."<p>

"So there wasn't a part of you that thought maybe you shouldn't do this? I mean, you could have potentially killed hi-"

"Are you trying to say that I didn't know what could have happened?" Seth interrupted, "What, that I was stupid enough to mess it up?"

Peter held up his hands, quickly shaking his head.

"No, no, not at all. I'm just curious as to why you wanted to in-"

"Inflict some much damage. I did more than just that, Peter," Seth interrupted again, spitting the radio personality's name, "I fucked him up. Did you not hear the crack as I pummelled him into those blocks? Words can't describe how that feels. When you are in so much control in the way that I was that night you'll understand. To literally have someone's life in the palm of your hand is, as I said before, exhilarating."

The silence in the room made Seth laugh as he looked at the fear in the faces of the crew in the studio. It was odd to think that only 48 hours ago he had defeated Dean in yet another Pay-Per-view, of course he had help that he did not need. Something that he made sure Kane knew about when they went back stage.

"Relax, I won't Curbstomp anyone, you have to be in my way first," he smiled.

"Why don't we, urm, play another song and then we'll come back for some more questions with WWE's Mr Money in the Bank Seth Rollins," Pete said as he played The Pretender by The Foo Fighters for his listeners. Seth took a sip from the coffee he had requested and thought back to everything the moment two nights ago when he had shocked the world yet again. Yet again, he had shown the WWE Universe and those backstage that he was serious about staying on top. That he wasn't just a pretty face who had stabbed his brothers in the back. He was a dangerous man who wasn't to be messed around with. And that was exactly what Dean had done.

The Lunatic Fringe had played with him, turned him into a paranoid freak. He couldn't walk out of his own hotel room without thinking Dean was lurking behind him. Every kiss, hug or touch Paige had given him, he flinched. He had almost hit her a while back because of the way she had entered their hotel room that night. It was beginning to ruin his relationship, and Seth wasn't having that. But what really did it was the day Dean had stolen Seth's briefcase. The former US champion thought he had the nerve to steal it! Seth had earned that through a serious amount of hard work and determination. Sure, The Authority gave him an extra boost, but only a little. Everything else, he did on his own. Of his own accord and the briefcase was the inanimate proof of that. He knew that he needed to take action.

"I'm Peter Rosenberg and you're listening to The Peter Rosenberg Show. We're here with WWE's Mr Money in the Bank himself, Seth Rollins," Peter said as the song faded out, "Now, I'm curious, what happened with Battleground and the whole forfeit situation? Were you ever going to compete?"

Seth frowned, and sat back in his chair, folding his arms.

"Of course, I was going to compete," Seth replied, offended, "I'm a pro-wrestler, Peter, that's what I do. It's what we're trained to do. We live, eat and breathe wrestling. I wasn't the one who tried to play smart that night."

* * *

><p><em><strong>July 20<strong>__**th**__** - Battleground – Tampa, Florida**_

_The smile on Seth's face told the crowd everything they needed to know. There wasn't going to be a match. Dean had, unsurprisingly, to Seth decided to do a no-show. It angered the WWE Universe more than it did the Davenport native. He knew he was going to win, that wasn't what bugged him, but at the same time, he did want to get his hands on unstable lunatic he had once called his brother. He wanted to show him what happens when you try to take him out. Payback doesn't exist in Seth's mind and it never will. What he did the night after the Pay-Per-View back in June wasn't payback. Oh no, it was simply him just seizing an opportunity, plain and simple. No payback related vendettas…okay, well, maybe a tiny part of it was payback but nothing major. Yet, here was Dean still trying to get his hands on the Davenport native to beat the crap out of him. Seth had to laugh. Dean didn't seem like the type of man to hold grudges, but his actions in the past month had told him opposite. Dean wasn't just crazy or a man who needed to be sectioned as soon as the next bed was available; he was someone who had trouble letting go things. _

_The young briefcase holder didn't know why it hadn't him back when they were The Shield. If ever they had an argument about something Dean wouldn't talk for days, and the day he lost his US title in the Battle Royal was something else entirely. The man couldn't stop going on about it for weeks. At the time it was very subtle, the odd mention here and there, but even so. It was just another thing to add to the list of why Seth needed to get out of that stable. _

_Making his way down the ramp, briefcase in hand, Seth stopped just opposite the ring. He was pissed off. He had already been attacked by Dean tonight. The man never seemed to be able to wait. It was a wonder he managed to last waiting at Pay-Per-Views beforehand. He was always so impatient. Seth stepped into the ring, picking up the microphone on top of the steel steps as Justin Roberts announced the start of the match. _

"_Since my opponent has so very irresponsibly been ejected from the building, I have come out here to accept my victory via forfeit," Seth smirked, happy despite what had happened to him less than 30 minutes ago, "I wanna be announced, I wanna be announced as the winner and I want my hand raised, do you understand that?"_

_Justin looked over at the ref who quickly nodded, telling Justin to do as Seth had instructed._

"_Do you understand that?" Seth repeated, "He's not coming out here, come on, announce me as the winner."_

_Dropping the mic, Seth stood in the middle of the ring while the ref took hold of his arm, looking at Justin giving him the signal to end the match. _

"_Ladies and gentleman, as a result of a forfeit, here is your winner, Seth Rollins."_

_The former tag team champion raised his hands in the air, heading over to the turnbuckle to raise the briefcase above his head, a sly smirk all over his face. He was 1-0. He left the ring seconds later, only to be attacked by Dean, who had somehow escaped the guys who had escorted him out of the building moments earlier. _

_He threw Seth into one of the barricades and jumped on him again. Seth didn't know what to do. Dean wasn't giving him the chance to fight. All Seth could do was hold his hands over his head and take each and every punch that Dean was giving him. He finally managed to get some offence as they made their way through the crowd after Dean left an opening, allowing The Architect to capitalise with a kick to his gut. He then quickly jumped up and threw Dean over the barricade, but any other chance Seth had to get his chance after Dean's unruly ambush was short-lived. As Seth climbed the barrier, Dean grabbed his head and threw him onto the announce table. Seth yelped in pain, Dean pounced again. Let out another load of punches. If anyone needed any proof that Dean was crazy, this was it. Their fight continued all the way back up towards the titantron, after 6 men had to carry Dean out of the arena. By the time, Triple H intervened, Seth was fuming. Not only was Dean a crazy grudge holder, he was now some lunatic wild animal who couldn't deal with losing a match that never happened. _

"_I'm the winner!" he shouted, as Hunter raised his arm in the air after Dean had been taken away. _

_And he was right. The fact remained, at the end of the day, Seth was Mr Money in the Bank and soon he was going to be WWE World Heavyweight champion. _

* * *

><p>"Have you ever been so frustrated with someone that all you want to do is cause them so much pain so that they never want to even come near you again?"<p>

Peter shook his head.

"Well, I have. That's how I felt that night, Peter. It wasn't just frustration with the fact Dean couldn't deal with losing. It was the way he had been messing with my life. I had turned into this paranoid freak, I was vulnerable and I don't ever like feeling like that. Because that's when you're at the point when you can easily be taken out. And there was no way in hell; I was going to let Dean crazed, lunatic, freak ball Ambrose takes me out. That was my job. That's what I do. I take people out. If you're standing in my way, I will take you out."

Seth paused, allowing what he had just said to resonate with those in the room. He took another sip of his coffee and pulled the briefcase onto his lap.

"You see this? This is what all of this has been for. An opportunity, you think Dean Ambrose would take an opportunity like I did? Of course not, he's a crazy motherfucker who should be sectioned. And Roman, well, he's too busy juggling a bank problem with a widow who's lost it. I don't even think he knows what's going on in his life half the time, if I'm honest. Fact is I was the only one with the balls to do what I did, and look at me, Peter. I'm standing tall, and the best thing is I even have something to show for it. Do you see Roman with this briefcase? Nope, course not. Do you see Dean with this case? Hell no! And you probably never will."

"So what would you say was the cause of all this? You've spoken about your feelings about The Shield as you started to take off and become known as one of the greatest stables in the history of the WWE. Did they influence your decisions?"

"Of course, they fucking did. I didn't think this through lightly, you know. I don't just jump in heads first and then think later. Why else do you think I'm called The Architect?" Seth asked, quickly downing the rest of his coffee as Peter asked another question.

"So, essentially what you're saying is that you are a man who is at the centre of every equation?"

"You're damn right I am. I don't need J & J security. They just help me from time to time. A lot of people think I don't get pissed off with them, but I do. Believe me, I do. I was The Shield. I created them, I planned the matches, the gear, and I destroyed them. With this little baby right here, I can cash in at any time and that puts me at the heart of the WWE World Heavyweight title. Wherever it goes, I go too. I have my eye on it at all times. I'm like an eagle, just waiting. But do you want to know how I really got here?"

Peter nodded as Seth sat back and reached into his pocket, pulling out a coin.

"This," he stated, flipping it between his fingers, "This little baby right here changed my fate. All with one simple flick, and do you know, Peter; I don't regret it at all."

"Now, let's get on to the unfortunate news of the death of Vince McMahon, the chairman of your company. There's rumours that his death had been planned by Triple H and Stephanie, something that had been in the works for mon-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you trying to accuse Triple H and Stephanie McMahon of being murderers?" Seth interrupted, his voice rising a little.

"No, of course not! I just thought that now would be a good time to ask so that we can quell the rumours, once and for all you know?"

"Do you think I'm stupid? That I'm really going to go believe that? Why don't you just tell the truth? You're asking me because you think I'm going slip and confirm that their some crazy killers so that it will make for good entertainment and have a massive shock value and gain you more listeners. Man, you gotta work harder than that. That's terrible, man."

The radio presenter shuffled in his seat, clearly nervous by the tone Seth was taking with him. The two-toned superstar looked like he was going to pounce and kill him. He looked at Seth and was surprised to see shock and a look of disbelief on his face. It was beginning to make him doubt that the rumours and the information he had gathered to do with this entire situation were lies.

"Listen, Vince's death was a sad time for all of us at the company, NXT stars included, okay. Just let the man rest in peace," Seth stated, in a tone that pretty much declared it was the end of that subject.

An awkward silence passed and Peter decided to use the time to put on another song. This time it was "You Make Me Sick" by Egypt Central. As the song played through the studio, Seth thought back to the events as the Boston stadium and the crazy events of that day.

* * *

><p><em>Paige pulled her rental to a stop across the road the post office and pulled her long hair into a ponytail. She couldn't stay here for long. The less time she spent here the better. She opened up the glove compartment and tried looking for some paper, but all she could find was a napkin from a restaurant Seth had taken her to, three days ago. <em>

"_Dammit," she exclaimed, sighing. _

_She quickly scribbled down the information Seth had texted her, with a pen she had in her bag and slipped the napkin into her back pocket. Pulling up the hood of Seth's hoodie she had borrowed, the young Brit stepped out of the car and jogged across the road entering the small building. She had decided to go for an all-black look just so it kept more incognito. She stepped into the small building, and headed over to the line for one of the counters, keeping her head down so any of the CCTV cameras wouldn't catch her face. _

"_Hi there," the lady behind the counter greeted as she stepped up to the counter, "How can I help you?"_

_Without saying a word, Paige turned her back slightly so she was out of view of the security camera and slipped the napkin across the counter. The lady frowned, turning the napkin over and then picked it up. _

"_I'll just go get this for you and be right back," the lady smiled, slipping into the mailroom. _

_She returned a few moments later a small box in her head. Paige nodded in thanks, snatched the box out of her hands and headed straight to her car. She hated post offices, there as something about that put her on edge. She wasn't sure what, but even so she felt unnerved. She pulled out her phone and went to text Seth, but decided to get back to the hotel and text him once she was done. She threw the box onto the passenger seat and started up the engine, turning on the road she drove off down the road, the post office fading out of sight as she made her way back to the hotel to finish her errands. _

"_Mr R will collect this later," she smiled, handing over the bag. _

_The concierge nodded and headed back into a room behind the desk to put the box away while Paige headed towards the lifts. She wanted to go for a swim, it was pretty hot today and she was going to take advantage of the heat as much as she could. Part of her was a little annoyed that Seth hadn't want to take her to the baseball stadium, even more so when he wouldn't tell her why. She knew he wasn't cheating on her, she could tell when he was lying to her. Something he never did. But, something seemed dodgy. It had her worried, and a little frustrated. She pulled out her phone and quickly sent a text to Seth._

_It's done. P x_

_Thanks. I'll be back soon. S x_

_Enjoy the baseball game. P x_

_Just as she sent the text message, she could hear two women laughing behind her. She already knew who it was. She turned to see Nikki and Brie Bella making their way across the lobby, arm-in-arm, probably off on some stupid shopping trip. It seemed to be all they ever did; that and gloating about how perfect their lives were. Nikki caught sight of the former Diva's champion and scowled. _

"_I take it the leaflet I gave you hasn't helped you decide yet?" Paige asked, through a sly smile. _

"_No, but it didn't help me to buy in somewhere else, actually. So I should thank you, but I don't have the time," Nikki said before walking out of hotel. _

"_Bitch," Paige mumbled under her breath as the doors the lift opened and the she stepped inside. _

_As the doors closed, her phone pinged and she smiled as she read Seth's reply. _

_Oh trust me I will. S x_

_She smiled and slipped her phone into her pocket as the lift began to ascend, unbeknownst to the fact that Nikki was going to be meeting with the man she had just pretty much risked her for._

* * *

><p><strong>Tampa Rays Stadium – Tampa, Florida<strong>

_Seth rolled over the top of the wall and headed towards the bleachers towards the exit. _

"_Keep low!" he shouted, "That fucker's got my damn gun!"_

_He turned thinking that Nikki was behind him and found no one there._

"_Damn it!" he cursed, realising that she was still on the field. _

_Now, he really wished he hadn't dropped the gun. The gun would have guaranteed them extra protection, now he felt helpless, despite the fact that Kane was somewhere in the building. He turned and reached the exit, the car he had driven over parked on the road just outside. He put his foot on the first step and sighed._

"_I'm gonna kill her, I swear," he said in frustration as he climbed back up the stairs and headed down the wall he had climbed over only moments ago. _

"_Now, where are those tapes?" Seth asked, flipping the coin he had in his hand and catching it. _

_He smirked as he revealed what it had landed on and slowly peaked above the top of the wall. He reached up behind his hair to assess the damage Dean had done on his hair. _

"_If he knows what's good for him, he'll stay away from me. Damn bastard's gonna pay for that."_

_His eyes caught sight of the black bag still in the middle of the field, and he could see Cena lying unconscious and AJ had Nikki pinned to the ground. But, there was other people standing around. The dark Hazel coloured hair that belonged to a certain Diva on certain roster. He'd have spotted those glasses from miles away. What was Sasha doing here? Surely it couldn't be for the tapes? Part of him wanted to climb over and grab the bag while no one was looking but with his gun still lying on the ground, he had a much better chance of being shot. _

_Instead, he just sat there curled up against the wall, watching from afar. He felt like some kind of owl just peering in. Knowing he couldn't get involved and it killed him. He sighed, fist clenched, wondering what was going to happen next. It was then that he realised that Sasha had someone else with her. He couldn't make out who it was, but it had to be someone she knew. Someone she trusted. And it definitely wasn't Paige so that had to be Becky Lynch. _

"_She's only come along for the thrill of it," he said to himself, "Bad decision, Sasha, she'll only get you killed."_

_Seth watched as Becky picked up the gun and aimed it at Dean. The anticipation built as Seth waited for her to pull the trigger, but it was quickly followed by jealously because he wanted to be the man behind that gun, pulling that trigger. But it looked as though he was going to have to settle for watching. Before he could do anything else, he felt his phone vibrate inside his pocket and he pulled it out to see he had a text from Paige. _

_All done. Package is with concierge. See you later. P. _

_Sighing, he quickly typed a reply and made his way to the bleachers just as the sounds of gunshots echoed through the stadium. Of all the things to miss, the death of a man who had almost ruined his rise to the top. Well, at least he had some news to look forward to. Good news that is. Slipping into his rental, Seth started up the engine and the last thing he saw was black smoke billowing into the sky in his rear view mirror as he sped down the highway. _

* * *

><p>"What are your plans now that you've essentially taken Dean out of the way?" Peter asked.<p>

"Now, it's the WWE World Heavyweight championship," Seth proudly, "You see, Dean thought he knew what he was doing. He thought he knew that was going to be able to get his payback and while he did have me in a messed up state, I was always one step ahead. You want your proof? You're looking at it. I'm still standing. Where is Dean? Lying unconscious in a hospital bed and do you know what I couldn't give a damn. Anyone on the roster can take what happened to him as a warning. That's what happens when you get in my way. Now, nothing and no one can stop me. And it was all because my fate changed with one simple flip."

Peter closed the show as Seth bid his goodbyes and left the studio. He stepped out into the street, the sun beaming on his face, J and J Security close behind him. The three made their way to his rental, but Seth as Seth reached for the door handle he stopped himself and looked over the top of the car at Joey Mercury.

"You two might want to go get a taxi. I'm going to go catch some fireflies," he said, as they stepped back from his car.

The briefcase holder slipped into his car and started up his engine, as the two bodyguards exchanged glances. Thank goodness, Joey had brought his car. They watched as Seth drove off, The Architect glancing at them in his rear-view mirror. This was something Seth needed to do alone. Word was that the only way you could get in touch with the one they called "The Man of 1,000 Truths" was if he got in touch with you, but Seth had his own agenda and he was going to find him whether he wanted to be found or not.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So there we have it. Chapter 11. I hope you liked it. Don't forget to leave a review and add to your favourites. Thanks to all of you who have kept with with my story. Thanks for the support! <strong>

**For more on the Seven Deadly Sins series be sure to check out:**

**Envy by MellyxBrooks**

**Temptation by xeloquentangelx**

**Pride by RonTheRonin**

**Insanity by Cody'sXFavouriteXGirl**

**See you guys next chapter!**

**XxPikaSixJoyxX**


	12. The Twelfth Chapter

**AN: Hi guys! Here we are with chapter twelve! I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Can you believe it's Mania week?**

**Crazy huh?**

**Well, without no further ado, here is chapter twelve!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twelve<strong>

Seth brought his lips to the woman he held in his arms as they came down from what could only be described as fierce, intense love-making. They were sure that the people in the hotel room the other side of the wall were going to complain but they didn't care. They needed that just as much as they needed each other. The last few weeks had been crazy, to say the least, for the couple. Paige had regained the Diva's championship but no sooner had she regained the title she lost it yet again to very woman she had taken it from and she wasn't even the one who tapped out. The Architect, however, was still trying to find of forcing the unstable lunatic of a bastard, as he now referred to him, to go bother someone else. He had The Davenport native squeezed the young Brit as she gave him a satisfied smile, inhaling her Strawberry shampoo she had let him use in her hair this morning.

"Hmm…," he smiled into her long locks.

"You found something to your liking?" Paige asked, as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"You could say that."

Paige lazily smiled, entwining her free hand with the one Seth had around her waist.

The two of them were on the floor of the shower, encased in the other's arms as the time continued on. If only they could stay like this. Seth had to admit, he was pretty surprised that the youngest Diva's champion had stuck by his side. He was a target, a hard blown target, yet she was taking it surprisingly well. Maybe it was because she had her own stuff to deal with. Whatever it was, Seth was glad that she had chosen to stick by his side. He pulled himself away from the woman he had just made love to moments ago and stood up, heading into the bedroom to check the time. He glanced over at the time, and saw that his was phone was beeping. Someone had sent him a text.

"_You better hurry up, or else you'll be late. N x_

_Don't you worry, there's no way I'm going to be late for this. S_

_Well then, I guess I'll see you there mister. N x_

_You sure will. S_

Seth put his phone down on the table and looked at his suit laid out across the bed. He slumped onto the bed and fell onto his back with a sigh. Today just wasn't a day he wanted to deal with at all. No one in the entire WWE roster did.

"If you stay like that any longer, they might as well bury you too," Paige teased as she poked her head out of the bathroom door.

"With the way things are at the moment, they might as well, to be honest."

Paige frowned and headed over to Seth and sat on his lap.

"Hey, hey, don't go all grumpy mute man on me. What's wrong?" the young Brit asked, as she cupped his face.

Seth just shook his head, glancing back over in the direction of the clock.

"We need to get ready or we'll be late," Seth replied, ignoring the question.

Rolling her eyes, Paige lightly applied pressure to his cheek and brought his face around so she could look into his eyes.

"Pai-"

"What is it?"

Seth took a moment and slid his arms around the former Diva's champion and he whipped her around and placed her on the bed. He held her gaze and he had to bite his bottom lip. _"Not yet," _he thought to himself as he looked into the eyes of the woman he had been dating for the past few months. Seth pressed his lips to the Brit underneath and pulled back, picking up the black shirt that was on the bed beside her, so he could finish getting ready. He could feel Paige's disappointment as she headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. He couldn't bring himself to tell her. How could he? How could he tell the woman that pretty much lived with him that he was responsible for the death of David Otunga? That he was the one who pulled the door closed on the former lawyer's life?

Not to mention the fact he had taken Nikki Bella with him to the stadium. He knew if Paige ever found that out, she would kill him. So he hadn't told her, and he had no plans on doing so in the future either. Not because he wanted to save himself from a lecture, but because he couldn't afford to have her hate him. With everything that was happening right now, he was going to be relying on her more than anything. Sure, he was 2-0 against Dean in Pay-Per-View wins but that still didn't stop him from wondering who was going to be after him next. He was still yet to sort his business out with Roman, not that he gave a care in the world about what that guy was doing. All he ever heard about him were rumours that he was taming the boss. Something he had already done a long time ago. But that was fine; Seth just had to laugh whenever he heard the latest about them. In The Architect's eyes Roman was Sasha's sloppy seconds. He couldn't help but wonder if they were going to arrive together at the service.

He quickly finished buttoning his shirt and picked up the black tie on the bed, wrapping it around his neck.

"Fuck this fucking shit thing!" he exclaimed, as he struggled with the buttons.

"Come here," Paige said as she emerged from the bathroom in a black dress that clung to her slim frame.

Seth hands sat on Paige's hips as she finished doing up his tie.

"Hey, cheer up, one funeral's already too much to deal with. I can't have you dying on me too," smiled the anti-Diva, tapping Seth's tie with a satisfactory nod.

"Sorry, I just can't shake this feeling that this isn't over."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Hill Rose Cemetery - Greenwich, Connecticut – October 17th<strong>

A parade of black emerged from the church and began descending its way down the road. Not a single word was spoken except for the silent sobbing at the front of the herd, belonging to none other than Stephanie McMahon. To any passer-by they were watching nothing more than a funeral procession, but to those who were a part of the parade, that was now rounding a corner, it wasn't just the end of an era or a legacy or a man's life, but the end of life as they knew it. This day marked the beginning, the real beginning of The Authority. It was no surprise that Steph was in tears, she hadn't just lost her father, not that she could give a damn about him, but what wou-should have been the 4th edition to her three wonderful daughters. The only voice that rang through her head right now was Hunter's as he broke the news to their children what had happened.

"_Girls, mummy's tummy just wasn't strong enough. So little Dani has gone to bed until Mummy is better and then he'll come back, okay?"_

She squeezed Hunter's hand as he walked beside her, her eyes avoiding the small white coffin only a few metres in front of her. Despite this…"setback" the Billion Dollar Princess was determined to carry on as things were, something she had relayed to the roster in the press conference the day they announced Vince had passed. Of course, Hunter had to adjust a few details. They couldn't have told the roster that Vince was assassinated now could they? It didn't help that they had no idea who it was that was behind the trigger. That didn't mean they didn't have a pretty good idea who it was. And they were going to make sure he got what he deserved. If the Chicago native had left it after killing Vince then things would have been fine. Sure, they'd have suspended him, fired him, got him arrested and all that jazz, but they wouldn't really have punished him really because he had taken out the one man in their way of being in complete power. But of course, Punk being Punk, he just had to go that one step further didn't he? He just couldn't help himself. Taking out Stephanie's baby changed things a great deal.

"He'll remember us when we're through with him," Hunter said to his wife, squeezing her hand, "By the time I'm finished with the no good Straight Edge fucker, he'll remember The Authority and the McMahon-Helmsley name."

An evil wretched grin grew on the face on the Billion Dollar Princess. The image of her daughters' faces with tears streaming down their cheeks faded and she now saw CM Punk tied to a post having the life beaten out of him by her husband as she looked on. Even the mere thought that that was what was next for the power couple brought a disconcerting amount of satisfaction to the mother who had recently lost her child. Yet, there was a small amount of comfort knowing that soon enough the man responsible for breaking a wall in her family would be held accountable. And it was something she was going to use to help her deal with her grief in the coming weeks. She wanted to take him by his Straight Edge neck and squeeze the life out of him with her bare hands. She wanted to watch the life disappear from his eyes and feel him take his last breath, but she couldn't. He was already locked up, but that didn't matter. She would happily put her life at risk to see CM Punk burn for the pain he had put her through. And it wasn't about avenging the life of her unborn child or her father, a man she no longer had any ounce of love to give, it wasn't about payback or the fact he wanted to sue the company. It was about showing him that when you try and take down those in power, those who belong and deserve to be at the top, you get burned. There was nothing more to it.

"_Oh, he won't. I'll make sure of it. He's going to remember The Authority and the McMahon-Helmsley name for the rest of his life. However short it may be."_

* * *

><p><em>The two crashed through the door of his hotel room, the lips already engaged in a fiery storm, a small sign of what was only to come. He reached for the button of her jeans, but she pushed him back, holding up her hand for him not to move. He held the gaze of the woman opposite him, who was now very slowly, pulling her shirt over her head. She was teasing him. His eyes followed her hands as they ran either side of her waist, over her breasts and around to her back of her bra, undoing the claps. He could feel his groin ache as she ever so slowly pulled each strap down her shoulders as if someone was running silk down her arms. She reached for the buttons of her jeans, but he reached forward and grabbed hold of her hands, pulling her towards him.<em>

"_Well, if that's how you want to play it," he said softly as he took her mouth with a fiery kiss, "Allow me to deal the cards."_

* * *

><p>Seth made his way over to his rental and leant against the parked car, letting out a sigh of relief.<p>

"You okay?" Paige asked.

Seth turned to look at the woman standing by his side and nodded. In truth, he was not okay at all. Night of Champions had come and gone, and Hell in a Cell was in a week's time, and he still hadn't heard from Bray Wyatt. Surely, the Wyatt family leader knew Seth was looking for him? He had been trying to find him for the past month. Every lead had brought him to a dead end, back to square one. And then there were the issue of the security tapes. The very reason that Vince McMahon was now six feet under. He needed to get his hands on those tapes and fast. The last he knew was that Dean had them, which was no surprise to him, it was just a matter of finding out where and how he was going to them. The Architect closed his eyes and pulled Paige into his arms. Nothing ever seemed to be smooth sailing for him. As soon as he managed to deal with one thing, he was already dealing with something else. A lot of that was Dean Ambrose, but after Hell in a Cell next week, he wasn't going to have to deal with the Lunatic Fringe anymore. He would finally be able to focus on his Money in the Bank briefcase and the WWE World Heavyweight title.

"You're really not okay," Paige stated as they broke apart, a little taken aback by Seth's display of PDA.

"I'm fine, alright. Funeral's just aren't my thing."

"Not unless you're The Deadman," she joked, "Hey, I'll be back, I gotta to find a toilet before we leave," Paige said, giving Seth a quick kiss before heading in the direction of the toilets.

Seth smiled as he looked up at caught sight of Sasha Banks sitting on a wall on her phone. He headed over to the NXT diva making sure to adjust his tie.

"No Roman today then?"

Sasha looked up from her phone and looked into the eyes of the Davenport native, frowning.

"No, why would it matter to you? We're not together," she replied.

"It doesn't, to be honest. I just find it funny how quickly you moved on. You never were one to be alone for long."

Sasha rolled her eyes as she realised why Seth had come to "talk" to her.

"Look, if you have something to say just say it. I really don't need this right now," she snapped.

"Let me guess the thing you do need is 6'3, has long black hair and is Samoan? Good choice," Seth replied sarcastically.

Sasha stood up and turned to face the man she had once dated. Part of her felt a little sad that their friendship had diminished, but then it was times like this that made her glad they barely spoke to each other anymore.

"What are you jealous?" she asked.

Seth could tell she was pissed off with him, but he didn't care. He wasn't finished yet.

"Not at all. If anything, I'm glad. I wonder how Roman feels knowing that he's….what's the saying…oh yeah, sloppy sec -"

The Davenport native didn't get to finish his sentence as Sasha had brought her hand across his face with a cold, hard slap. The sting burned his cheek, but he couldn't help but smile. He always enjoyed pushing her buttons. It was just too easy.

"Fuck you, Seth."

"You already did," he smirked as she walked away.

* * *

><p><em>The two tumbled onto the bed, arms wrapped around each other as they continued to explore the other's mouth. Their tongues engaged in a passionate dance. Paige reached for the belt buckle of his jeans and struggled to undo the belt. <em>

"_Easy," he chuckled against her lips to which Paige responded by biting his lower lip. _

_She needed him now and if she ripped had to rip his trousers off with her bare hands then so be it. She was going to take him and she was going to take him now. _

"_Well, damn, you really are in a rush," he smiled. _

"_Think you can keep up?"_

_Sliding two fingers into Paige's wet heat, he smiled as she let out an exasperated moan. _

"_Oh, I can do a lot better than that," he grinned and gave a few flicks of his fingers causing the anti-diva to lash out and grab hold of the sheets underneath her as she hit her first orgasm of the night. _

* * *

><p>"What the hell happened?" Nikki Bella asked once Sasha was out of earshot.<p>

He hadn't seen the Diva since the events at the stadium a month ago so he wasn't really prepared for her "ambush".

"Nice to see you too," Seth greeted.

"You know I had to walk about a mile and practically beg the bus driver to take me back to the hotel!" she shrieked, "With my ripped, broken top to cover my fucking chest!"

Seth had to fake a sneeze to stop himself from laughing so hard. The image of a topless Nikki Bella walking down a road with ripped top covering her breasts was too hard to resist laughing at.

"You think this is funny? It was embarrassing. Not to mention the fact I had AJ fucking Lee beat the living shit out of me that day! I could have died!"

Seth leaned towards the Fearless Diva and lowered his voice.

"Then perhaps it's time you invest in tops that won't break when things get rough."

Nikki gasped and pulled away to look at him.

"If that NXT Diva hadn't just slapped you I'd literally have knocked you to the floor right now," she snapped.

"Oh please, you and I both know I'd be the one taking you to the floor, I don't think you'd be able to handle me."

"Don't you worry, Sethy boy, I can handle you just fine. I'm with Superman himself remember?" Nikki winked, looking over at her boyfriend, John Cena, who was talking to Randy Orton, AJ by his side.

"Then I guess that makes you Lois Lane, a typical damsel in distress, right?"

"Oh, don't worry. Superman always comes for me. I have to say I appreciated working with you, it's always a pleasure working with someone of your…calibre-and, ah…I'll keep the shirt," smiled the Fearless Diva.

Seth nodded and watched as Nikki headed her back to her sister, Brie who was waiting with Daniel, unaware that Paige had heard the entire conversation.

* * *

><p>"<em>My turn," Paige smirked as she straddled him. <em>

_Taking hold of his long member, the young Brit pushed him inside her, sliding down his member until she could feel him inside. She waited a moment to adjust to the feel of him before rising up and bringing herself back down again. Her hands were resting on the bed either side of his head, and she reached down and brought their lips together. Paige continued to ride him, her movements increasing in pace as she let out a moan of pure pleasure. _

"_Let me take over," he said, placing on hand on her hip and the other over her clit and rubbing the sensitive nub. _

"_Oh fuck," Paige exclaimed as a wave of pleasure ran through her body. _

_She threw her head back as she placed her hands on his chest to steady herself as she continued to move up and down. He could feel she was on the verge of reaching her release and so he sat up, wrapped his arms around her and whipped her around so she was now underneath him._

"_Now it's my turn."_

* * *

><p><span><strong>Monday Night Raw – October 20<strong>**th**** – Kansas City **

"I take it you still haven't spoken to him then?" Paige asked Alicia Fox as she swung her legs up onto the coffee table in the middle of the room. It was odd realising how much she had in common with the crazy woman who had given Cody Rho-Stardust's cousin a wedgie on live tv a few months ago. Yet, here they were backstage as besties. Of course, Paige had to admit she was a little wary. She wasn't sure if Alicia was going to lose it and go on another rampage. Just the other day, the slightest mention of Wade Barrett sent her into a such a wild state she ripped one of the stagehands magazines to shreds with her teeth. To say it was weird would have been an understatement. Alicia was beyond help and that included Dr Shelby.

"No, I have not," Alicia replied, sticking her nose up in the air, "That man just can't handle a queen like me when he sees one. Can you believe he said I wasn't good enough in bed after we just had sex for like 2 and a half hours before Night of Champions?"

The anti-Diva couldn't help but grimace as she forced the image of Wade and Alicia engaged in some crazy love making session from her mind. That was definitely not what she needed right now. She took a sip from the bottle of water she had picked up on the way from catering.

"How can I, the Foxy Queen, not be good in bed? That just doesn't make sense. What annoys me is the fact we've had sex in so many places. Half of which I don't even remember, but not once, not once have I faked it. And I know he hasn't."

"Alici-"

"His voice has this weird gruff to it when he hits that spot and it just…," she said, sniffling.

"Urm…Alicia, are you okay?" Paige asked, frowning.

The Foxy Diva stood up from her stretch and headed into the toilet and came out with a handful of tissue in her hand. Paige couldn't believe it. Was she crying over the sound Wade Barrett made whenever he climaxed?

"It's just….It was so cute! And it was me that did that to him. It was me that got that sound out of him that no one else could. You have no idea how beautiful that is, Paige. How beautiful our relationship was. It was more than just a relationship; it was a King and a Queen declaring that they each for all eternity."

This was becoming awkward, as much as she loved Alicia; Paige needed to get out of here. She wasn't great with crying people especially when it to do with guys. She just wasn't great with breakups. She picked up her headphones and went to plug them into her phone, but Alicia turned to face her and sat down next to her, picking up a cushion that was in between them.

"And now I hear that he's moved on with some other woman. Some boyfriend-stealer. A bitch who thinks she can make him scream like I did," she said, her eyes ablaze with fury, "But no one, no one can make him scream like I did."

Paige's eyes widened as the cushion Alicia was holding started rip as she continued her rant about Barrett's new girlfriend.

"He'll never find another woman like me," Alicia growled.

"_He sure won't."_

"I'm just too good. I'm a queen. THE Queen and I'm the_** only**_ girl in the world who can and who will ever make him scream like that again," Alicia snapped, ferociously tearing apart the cushion.

"_O-kay, next time I won't ask her if she's okay," _Paige thought to herself, standing up.

Unfortunately, she didn't even take a step as a stagehand knocked on the door and told them it was time for Alicia's match.

"Maybe you should, urm, fuel your … anger to beat AJ in this match," Paige said, hesitantly in case she angered her friend.

"Angry?" smiled the Total Diva star, as if nothing had happened, "Who said I was angry? I'm the Foxy Queen. I'm never angry."

Alicia nodded and jumped up, heading out into the hall and towards the arena. Paige stood in the middle of the room in complete shock at the sudden change of character in the diva.

"And people think AJ was crazy," Paige said to herself, heading out after the diva.

As she made her way past catering she could see the bright red hat that belonged to none other than Nikki Bella.

"Oh god, here we go," she said, sighing.

"Well, why don't you look who it is?" Nikki said, scowling at the British Diva.

"Yeah, the vampire Diva," Brie laughed, "Maybe you should change you're entrance to the Vampire one they have in 2K14."

"Perfect match," Nikki smirked, joining her sister in laughter.

Rolling her eyes, Paige came to a stop, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"And maybe you two should die your hair blonde and change your name to Bella bitch 1 and Bella bitch 2," Paige retorted as she headed off down the hall.

"Well, while you're out supporting the other crazy freak in this business, maybe you should think about why you ended up being mail lady and not stadium lady," Nikki laughed and she headed off in the opposite direction, Brie by her side.

Coming to a stop, the anti-Diva turned, looking back at the Total Diva twins.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she called out.

"Why don't you ask lover boy why he didn't take you to the baseball game?"

Paige stood there and frowned.

"_Baseball? What the hell i-"_And then it hit her,_ "That fucking bastard!"_

She pulled out her phone from her back pocket and before she could even do anything, a shrieking scream of pure frustration that belonged to none other than Alicia came from down the hall and Paige was sprinting towards the arena.

* * *

><p>"<em>I'm not done with you yet," he smirked as he thrust his hips forwards forcing another moan from the Diva he held against the wall. <em>

_Paige couldn't think as she bucked her hips to meet with each of his thrusts. Digging her nails into his shoulders, her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, the British Diva nibbled on his ear. She ran her nails down his muscled arm as he pulled away from the wall and set her on the floor, bringing one of her legs onto his shoulder. He increased in his pace as her walls began to tense around his long member and she reached out, grabbing hold on the edge on the rug he had set her upon. _

"_Oh…my…fuck!" she exclaimed as he quickly ran his finger across her sensitive nub in a circular motion _

* * *

><p><span><strong>Hell in a Cell <strong>-** October 26****th **-** Dallas, Texas**

**American Airlines Centre – Car Park**

"What was that?" he asked, his hot ragged breath tingling her neck, sending shivers through her body.

"Seth…oh!"

"Not yet," he said as he pumped with his hips, brining Paige closer to her release. They had been in this car for the last twenty minutes. Nothing ever felt better than a last minute sex session before a Pay-Per-View match. The windows of the car were already steaming with their breath as he took her breast into his mouth and ran his tongue around her already hard nipple. Her back beginning arched as she could feel herself slowly climb the ladder of pleasure. Paige took one of her hands from his shoulder, but Seth already catching on to what she was about to, seized hold of her hand and held it out above her head, pressing it against the cold window. He gave a light bite of her breast and took her other into her mouth, this time sucking harder but as not to cause her any pain.

"Hmm," he said against her breast, "You taste good," he smiled, running his tongue up the space between her breasts, her throat and into her mouth.

Their tongues engaged in a war of fiery passion, until they broke for breath and Seth decided to take a light bite on her neck.

"Seth, please…" begged the anti-Diva, biting his shoulder.

Paige dug her nails into Seth's back as she could feel herself on the verge of her release. He granted his British lover her wish, reaching for her clit with his free hand, the other entwining with one her hands as she lay underneath him in the back of his rental in the car park.

"Scream for me," he whispered.

And that was exactly what she did; the smile of satisfaction as Paige shuddered under his touch as he brought her to her climax, joining her a few seconds later.

"Budge over then," he said softly into her ear.

"I…I can't move," she whispered, holding onto him.

Chuckling to himself, Seth let go of her hand sliding it around Paige's waist and rolled her over so she was lying on his chest. He held her to him and kissed the top of her head. Seth could feel Paige shivering underneath him and he reached down and grabbed hold of his hoodie placing it over her.

"You okay?" he asked, giving her another kiss on her forehead.

"Hmm," she said softly," We should do this more often."

She couldn't believe it. She knew Seth was good, great even, at pleasing a woman; they never had bad sex since they had been together, but this was a whole new level. She never realised he could be so dirty but so damn hot at the same time. Of course, that didn't change things. She still hadn't spoken to him about his conversation with Nikki at the funeral and part of her wasn't sure she wanted to. What was she to say to him? "You took another woman to the very stadium where Vince McMahon was killed?" Did that mean he had a hand in it, surely not? Seth was many things, but he wasn't a killer. Either way, she couldn't allow it to get to her. She had her match to think about and so did Seth.

"You still haven't heard from him?" Paige asked in reference to Bray Wyatt.

"Nope, at this rate I doubt he even heard I was looking for him," Seth admitted, the defeat clear in this voice.

"You know what they say…" she smiled.

Paige lifted her head and pressed her lips to the middle of his chest, before resting her head against chest. Seth smiled but it soon faded as he thought about his match later tonight.

"Yeah, I know. I just didn't think it was true."

"Well, who knows? Bray does have a thing for theatrics," Paige reassured him.

"That he does. That he does."

* * *

><p><em>Paige exhaled with content as the warm water from the shower hit her skin. She could still feel the heat radiating from her after her wild act of carnal knowledge. She emerged twenty minutes later and quickly dried herself off, slipping back into her jean he ripped off in a bout of pure raging lust earlier. Swinging her damp hair over one shoulder, the Anti-Diva headed into the main area of the hotel room.<em>

"_So, I don't get a goodbye kiss then?" he asked, lying in spot where their wild act had come to an almighty crescendo._

"_And what makes you think you deserve one?" she asked, she put on her shoes. _

_He smirked, propping himself up onto his elbows._

"_Come on, I just gave you one of the best climaxes you'll ever have in your life, surely I deserve something to keep me going until next time."_

"_Next time?" Paige replied, a little shocked. _

"_What can I say? There's always a round two and usually a round three. I'm just that good."_

_The young Brit couldn't help but shake head, not surprised with his bravado. After all, he was a man, and an arrogant cocky man at that. But that didn't mean anything. _

"_There isn't going to be a next time," she said, grabbing her keys and her phone from the stand as she opened the door, "I was just here to fuck you."_

* * *

><p><span><strong>Seth Rollins vs Dean Ambrose <strong>

Seth hissed as the pain seared through his back from the impact of the fall. He could feel parts of the announce table irritating his back as he lay on top of them in a crumpled mess. Dean was lying next to him, he too, in the same amount of pain Seth was now feeling. The two former brothers were too dazed that the mixed sound of the crowd cheering for Dean or Seth had turned to muffled rumbles in their heads.

"_Get up!"_ Seth told himself, _"Get the fuck up! You have a match to win!"_

But the pain was too much. He had hit his head as smashed through the announce table, which was now broken in half underneath him. He had to admit, he was grateful for the table as it had broken his fall. He tried not to think of how much worse the pain in his back could be right now if the table wasn't there.

"Get them out here!" Joey Mercury screamed, gesturing towards the ramp, "Get them out here now."

Seth frowned, wondering who exactly Joey was calling, his answer came a few seconds later as he could make out the bright yellow plastic that was a backboard for a stretcher.

"_For fuck's sake! I don't need this shit!"_

"Fine," Seth spat, "I'm fine. I'm fine!" he mumbled.

Joey, who was knelt beside him, shook his head.

"No, Seth, you're not fine. You need help," Joey said, concerned.

"No…"

"He's right," Jamie Noble agreed, "You were just put through a table from a crazy height. You're lucky this match did-"

"No!" Seth snapped, as he was lifted onto a stretcher.

"_Goddammit! I'm going to fucking kill these two!" _as he was wheeled off towards the ramp.

The team who were taking him backstage didn't get very far as Dean, who was also being taken back on stretcher jumped up and shoved everyone out of the way, dragging The Architect into the steel cage, not before throwing him face first into the cage, screaming at the referees to lock them in.

The bell that signalled the start of the match rung seconds later and Dean began unloading a furry of hate he had held in for the past 4 months. He finally had Seth all to himself, no Kane or Big Show or J & J Security to interrupt. No distractions, it was just him and Seth and that was all he wanted. This was Dean's time now and he was going to make sure that Seth and the Authority knew that. No one was stopping him from beating the life out of Seth because that was exactly what he was going to do. He wanted Seth to wake up tomorrow morning and remember him, remember what betraying the only people in the company who trusted and loved him cost him and he didn't want him to forget it.

The crowd began chanting Dean's name as the Ohio native made his way up the turnbuckle and sent Seth through a table with a leg drop, breaking the table in half. The match continued, the tables finally turning after Kane blinded the former US champion by firing a fire extinguisher into his face. The distraction gave Seth the chance to counter with a Powerbomb through a table that was leaning against the side of the cage and just the like that, the game had changed. Dean was out, but so was Seth. As much as he wanted to capitalise on the attack, he was still weakened from the rage attack Dean had unloaded on him as they finally entered the cage. He rolled Dean into the ring a few moments later and hit him with a Curbstomp, his legs giving out as he did so.

"_Damn you, Dean," _Seth thought as Dean kicked out at 2.

And now it was his turn to deliver the shots. His turn to put Dean in his place, but of course, in typical Dean Ambrose fashion it was short lived as the Davenport native found himself on his back after Dean whacked him with his Mr in the Bank briefcase. If things kept up like this Seth wasn't sure just how much more he could take, but he was determined to keep going. There was no way he was going to come out of this as the loser. He hadn't so far and he wasn't going to start now, least of to his former brother.

Dean excited the ring and lift up the apron, the crowd breaking out into a chant seconds later. Seth frowned, wondering what it his opponent had chosen as his next weapon of destruction.

"Talk about payback," Michael Cole said as Dean slid two cider blocks into the ring, placing the side by side just behind him.

The crowd had erupted into a "Yes" chant as Dean slid under the rope headed over to Seth.

"I'm going to do to you what you did to me, you son of a bitch," he said into his ear.

Jumping to his feet as the adrenaline began to pump through his veins, Dean seized Seth's hair and set his head on top of the two blocks; a scream of pure anger, frustration erupting from his mouth as he did so. He placed his foot on Seth's head, making sure he was going to hit the right spot and as he stepped back ready to deal the blow, the lights went black.

"What's going on?" Michael Cole asked; a question that was already on the minds of the entire WWE Universe.

Suddenly, lights appeared all around the area and a wall of smoke ascended from the matt. Dean stood in shock, unsure of what was going on, staring into this wall of smoke as a white figure appeared in the waves. He frowned and took a step forward as he tried to figure out who it was. By the time he realised that it was Sister Abigail, Bray Wyatt flew through the smoke and unloaded a number of punches into the Lunatic Fringe's head. Seth looked up as he saw Bray in the Crab next to knocked out Dean, who had just taken a powerful side slam, and a small smile etched on his lips.

"_It looks like he got my call after all."_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So there was chapter twelve! Hope you guys liked it. Don't forget to review and favourite and be sure to check out the other stories part of the Seven Deadly Sins Series:<strong>

**"Envy" by MellyxBrooks**

**"Insanity" by Cody'sxFavoritexGirl**

**"Pride" by RonTheRonin**

**"Temptation" by EloquentAngel9**

**See you guys next chapter!**

**XxPikaSixJoyxX**


	13. The Game Has Changed

**AN: Hi there guys, here we are with another chapter. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter Thirteen<strong>

Paige threw her towel onto one of the sun loungers, along with her stuff and dived into the pool. The cool water felt good against her skin. She threw her head back as she surfaced, pushing her now soaked hair out of her face.

"Fancy seeing you here," Barrett said, putting down his book.

"Since when do you read books?"

"Since I got my arse handed to me on a plate in the vicinity of my own hotel room that the only thing I can do in there is sleep."

An awkward silence passed between the two as they remembered the incident that lead to Barrett's hospitalisation. Neither of them had seen or spoken to each since until now, and thanks to Kane's….interference, it wasn't a situation that they could laugh about either.

"Sorry," Barrett apologized, "I guess I'm still hung up on the situation."

"Yeah, I imagine you are. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. I'm more worried about you. Feeling a little annoyed that you didn't get the chance to experience the Barrett Barrage in all its glory?"

"That depends," Paige teased.

"Oh yeah on what?" Barrett smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"On whether you can keep up," she smiled as she dived under the water. She was going to let Barrett take that as whatever answer he wanted. She had other things to focus on right now. Other plans to fulfil.

She couldn't help but think about what Nikki had told her a few weeks ago. She was still trying to figure out exactly what was going on. Just what did Seth and Nikki get up to at the Tampa Bay Stadium? She couldn't very well ask him, he probably wouldn't tell her and so she was going to have to do her own investigating. Where to start? She had no idea. Right now, her main aim was to deal with Alicia Fox. Things between them had dissipated quickly after Hell in a Cell last month. Paige was just done with her craziness. She had dealt with it with AJ, but it was on a whole different level. It turned onto a level of crazy that she just couldn't deal with. She had turned on yet another friend in the division and it meant she was going to be in the same corner of the room that AJ was after she embraced the Black Widow. And to be honest, Paige didn't care. She didn't need a Diva by her side, she had Seth and he was all she needed right now. Of course, she'd have loved to have the Diva's championship by her side again, but that was something she was just going to have to wait for. Right now, she needed a break. The one thing the Anti-Diva still hadn't gotten her head around was the information that Seth had been at the Tampa Bay stadium the day Vince had died. She closed her eyes and sank further into the bottom of the pool, blowing out a few bubbles of air as she lay flat on her back on the surface underneath her. It looked like she was going to have to turn into a Private Investigator and do her own research. Seth's phone wasn't an option, mainly because there probably wasn't going to be much information on there anyway. The next best thing was Otunga's office. That sly coffee-carrying creep knew everything about everyone and he had to have been there. Maybe his computer had some information on it that would help her clarify some stuff. It was just a matter of getting into it undetected. Paige broke the surface of the water a few minutes later to find Barrett had gone. She swam to the edge and pulled herself out, grabbing her towel and wrapping it around her slim frame. If there was one thing she was going to make sure she had, it was information on exactly what went down at the stadium and if she had to rip out Nikki's hair extensions to do so, then so be it.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Monday Night Raw – November 3rd – Buffalo, New York<strong>

"We can't have this," Stephanie said, as her husband was pacing back and forth in their office, "He can't be like this, Hunter. He can't. What the hell does he thinks he's doing?"

"I don't know Steph," Hunter mumbled, he was in his own zone that he wasn't really listening to his wife.

Orton had just interfered in Seth's match against Dolph Ziggler, a man who just so happened to be making his way onto Team Cena, hitting him with the RKO and costing The Architect the match.

"He needs to get his act together and get on the same page as the rest of us. We need him in the match at Survivor Series; we need him to be on his A-game. He can't be a B+ player, we may as well just blackmail Bryan if that's the case," Stephanie carried on as if she hadn't heard Hunter answer her question, "I don't know what his problem is with Seth, and to be honest, I don't care. What I do care about is the fact that in 2 weeks, we may no longer be in charge of this company and that is something that I cannot afford to lose. I- we have put too much of our money, our time and our effort to lose this. We cannot afford to lose this."

"I know, I know, Steph. But what are you suggesting I do? Pedigree him through the announce table?" the COO sighed.

"If that's what it takes to get through to him, then yes!"

Hunter sighed and sat on the edge of the desk. This was far from what he needed right now, The Authority's focus should be on the 6-man tag at Survivor Series and making sure that the inevitable didn't become the inevitable. They couldn't be worrying about Orton and Rollins and their little squabble, whatever it was about. Stephanie stood up and headed over to her husbands, running her hands up and down his forearms.

"Look, Randy knows Steph. He's not stupid; he'll get on the same page. I kn-"

"What are you saying we wait for him?" Stephanie interrupted.

"Far from it, I'm just saying I don't think we need to worry about him."

The Billion Dollar Princess stood up and headed over to her husband, running her hands up and down his arms as he let a sigh pass through his lips.

"Baby, listen, I don't want this just as much as you do, but it's a precaution that we have to take. He's already overstepped the mark by costing Seth his match earlier, who's to say he won't go any further. If Orton loses it out there in their match then something has to be done. You have to do something about it; we can't afford to have him veering us off track. We've got too much riding on this. Sort it out."

And with that The Billion Dollar Princess walked out of their office and left her husband wondering just exactly how he was going to tame The Viper.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton <strong>

Seth stood above the steel steps, arms raised in the air mimicking Orton's signature pose. The Viper unconscious on the mat beneath him after Seth had delivered another deadly Curbstomp onto the steel steps. He had taken out someone else who had tried to derail him, and it felt good. It felt good being on top. He could hear the WWE Universe booing and heckling him but he didn't care. This was his place now, his town, as Paige said, this was his house. He was The Future and there was nothing that anyone was going to do about that. Orton had tried to teach him a lesson, but it turns out he wasn't that great of a teacher, after all. The medics were already by Orton's side, helping him onto a stretcher as Seth jumped down from the steps. He smirked as he looked at the "lifeless" body of Orton and pushed his head with his foot, laughing as he made his way backstage.

"That was very well done, Seth," Stephanie smiled, patting him on the back as he walked past, "I'm very proud."

"Thank you, Stephanie," Seth replied, bowing.

"You know, I'm glad we chose you and we saw the light in you. Because you are the future and after Survivor Series, we're going to make sure that the entire WWE Universe knows it. See you tomorrow."

Nodding Seth headed down the hall back to his locker room; right now he needed a shower. He wondered if Paige was going to be up for joining him, but when he entered his dressing room, there was a note on the table.

_Couldn't stay had to do something important. Will see you at hotel room. Promise I'll make it up to you later. ;) P x_

"_So much for the joint shower then." _

He emerged from the bathroom 15 minutes later in a black t-shirt and jeans. Tonight may have not been his night in terms of match wins, but he still managed to show Orton that he wasn't going to be intimidated by anyone. Absolutely no one.

He drove back to the hotel and checked his phone, remembering that he was due to go and visit his wrestling school next week. A smile formed on his lips as he got out of his car and locked it before heading up to his hotel room where he was hoping that Paige was waiting for him. He was going to have to punish her for not staying with him. Maybe he would take the Anti-Diva along. Show her around, they hadn't really spent much time together since the whole Survivor Series war had kicked off and now with the Pay-Per-View being only two weeks away, his time was going to be spent on strategizing and finding ways to make sure things stayed the way they were. He opened the door to his room and surprisingly found the room empty as a grave.

"Huh," he frowned, disappointed, dropping his bag to the floor and closing the door.

As he did, Paige pounced on him from behind, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"What the fu-"

"Oh shut up," she smiled, biting his ear, "It's only me."

Seth grabbed hold of Paige and swivelled her around so he could look into her eyes.

"You're gonna pay for that," he teased, silencing her with a kiss before she could protest.

"Hmm, had a good night then?" she asked after they finally broke for breath.

"You could say that, but you're just about to make it a whole lot better," he grinned, bringing their lips together again.

Paige kept her legs hooked around him as his tongue slid into her mouth and danced with hers in a fiery wave of passion that soon turned into raging hunger. She was still was still wearing her gear from her match, but that wasn't going to be a problem. The young Brit set her feet on the floor and struggled with her belt buckle, but Seth quickly took over. While he pulled the zip from his trousers, she palmed his now prominent bulge, eliciting a low growl from The Davenport native. Seth responded by pushing forward and they crashed into the cabinet that was next to the wall behind them. Paige groaned as he pulled down her top and took her breast into his mouth, running his tongue around her hard nipple, as he slipped one finger into her heat followed by another.

The Anti-Diva threw her head back and gasped as she rode against his fingers while he flicked his fingers starting the rise to what she knew was going to be yet another crazy session of love making. His lips found her neck, and he softly pressed them down her neck , reaching her shoulder as his thumb ran across her clit, evoking another moan from the Diva. He could feel her inner walls clenching around his fingers and he knew she was close, he worked with his fingers a few more times and his hand slid around her waist to keep her from falling as she bit into his shoulder and rode out the wave. Smirking, Seth pulled his fingers out of her heat, which was still wet for him, and brought them to her lips. Paige sucked his fingers, tasting herself.

"My turn," she smirked, pushing him back and winking as she fell to her knees, pulling his trousers to his ankles and taking him into her mouth. Seth's hand instinctively resting on the back of her head as she continued to work his length with her tongue, running her hand along his member. He quickly stopped her by reaching down towards her and kissing her again. She stood up and Seth pushed her against the wall, entering her as he their bodies joined together. Paige went to reach for her clit, but Seth grabbed hold of both her hands and placed them against the wall behind her head.

"Not tonight," he said as he started thrusting with hips.

He continued, Paige's hips rising to meet with each thrust of his own.

"Put your legs around me," he commanded, Paige doing exactly as he told her.

Seth's free hand reached around her waist and rested on her bum as Paige wrapped her legs around him, sending them both into a whole other world as he resumed his min

Her fingers dug into her hands as they continued to ride to that place on extreme pleasure, the Anti-Diva hitting it first letting out a wild scream, the sound causing Seth to hit his release seconds later.

"Can't move again, huh?" Seth smiled, to which Paige nodded.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Seth swept her up into his arms and turned to head into the bedroom, only for his legs to buckle and the two fell onto the floor. Paige was still in his arms as Seth fell onto his back, both of them burst out laughing.

"Seth," Paige said, as she slid her arm around him.

"Hmm?"

"I love you," she declared lazily as sleep finally took over the Diva.

Smiling, the Davenport native pressed his lips to the top of her head and reached up, grabbing a blanket that was hanging on the back of the sofa, placing it over them. He locked hands with the Diva he now held in his arms and squeezed her, as he could feel himself drifting off to sleep.

"I love you too."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Survivor Series – November 23<strong>**rd**** – St. Louis, Missouri **

"Where the fuck did he come from?" Seth exclaimed, as he stormed down the hall, kicking over a portable water fountain.

"We don't know," Jamie Noble said, jogging slightly to keep up with Seth as he continued down the hall.

"Then find out!" Seth snapped, whipping around and grabbing hold of Jamie's tie and shoving him against a wall.

"Hey! Let him go," Hunter said, his voice as calm as ever, despite the fact he had just lost his seat of power in the WWE.

Seth held the gaze of his COO and shoved Jamie into the wall before throwing him to the ground.

"Listen, I get you're angry, okay. I am to-"

"Angry? I'm more than just angry, Hunter," Seth snapped, pacing back and forth, "I'm fucking pissed off. I let that happen, I had planned every single strategy. That match was mine, Hunter. I fucking had it! I had it! Instead that old face-painted freak decides to stick his nose in business where it wasn't needed. He cost us the match, and I'm supposed to be happy with that? Hell-fucking-no!"

"Seth, lis-"

"Who let him in? I bet Cena got in touch with him. He knew he was going to lose and so he needed some help. It's thanks to those fuckers we're in this position right now. Everything has gone. There's no way Cena will ever let you come back, he's gonna be calling the shots now. You can't seriously be okay with that. You can't stand there and tell me that you're actually okay with losing to Joh-"

"OF COURSE, I'M NOT OKAY YOU TWO-TONED LITTLE SHIT!" the COO roared, "I've just lost everything. Everything Steph and I had planned, all of it. Months of effort, money, time, we put into this. Into making sure this business thrives. And now it's gone, no thanks to that old git who used to be in WCW. Believe me, Seth, I'm just as pissed off as you are. I'm in the mood to beat the living shit out of someone, but I'm not going to. Cena couldn't run a company if he tried, he won't be there for long. We'll be back, and we're going to be stronger than ever. We'll show him what happens when you try and overthrow those who belong at the top. Just remember what I taught you before. There's always…"

"A Plan B," Seth finished.

Hunter nodded and headed over to his new protégée and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Remember that, alright?"

Seth nodded and sighed as Hunter headed off towards the car park to get into the car that was waiting to take him and his wife home.

Seth turned and he couldn't help but think about what he had just said to his mentor. He had planned for every possible outcome and yet he still lost. The Authority was gone, so that left Cena in charge? Seth huffed and headed back towards his dressing room, Jamie and Joey just behind him. He turned to held up his hand for them to stop.

"What is it?" Joey asked.

"Just go home. I don't need you guys, alright."

"Are you sure? You're gonna be okay without us?"

"I'll be fine. Go," Seth nodded and went to take a step forward, but Jamie grabbed his arm.

"You're not s-" Jamie said, taking a step towards him, the concern on his face.

Grabbing Jamie by his tie, Seth yanked him towards his, their noses brushing against each other.

"When I say "go home", you fucking go home, okay?" he growled, through his teeth, the coldness in his voice sending shivers down both their spines.

"S-Sure, Seth, we'll see you tomorrow."

Taking the hint, Joey tapped Jamie's arm and the two headed back down the hall, leaving Seth on his own. He busted open the door to his dressing room and let out an almighty yell of pure frustration.

"FUCK YOU JOHN CENA!" he bellowed, clearing the table in the middle of the room with one full swipe of his arm.

The game had changed yet again. With The Authority gone, it meant that Seth was now a moving target. People were going to be gunning for him, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be prepared.

"_Let them come," _he thought, _"I'll Curbstomp every man that walks through that door."_

He opened his bag and looked at the Sub Machine gun he had used the day he had killed Otunga and he smirked. He knew there wasn't going to be a need for him to use this, everyone that was going to be after him could easily be taken out with a Curbstomp. At least he didn't feel as vulnerable as he did during the Dean situation. Either way, he had the captain of the Fruity Pebbles to take out and he was determined to make sure that he didn't forget this night.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Monday Night Raw – December 29<strong>**th ****– Washington, DC **

Seth pulled his rental into the parking space of the Verizon Centre and made his way through the car park, Paige had decided to stay at home and she wasn't feeling too great. She made sure to give him a goodbye present, she took his well-endowed member into her mouth and brought him to release within minutes, before he left. Something he knew they were going to have to carry on when he got back to their hotel room. As he opened the door, he sighed as he was greeted by J & J Security, Jamie rubbing his neck from their encounter a few weeks ago. The Architect walked past a huddle of people, Money in the Bank briefcase in hand, surrounding the Hall of Famer Edge and his best friend and former tag team partner, Christian. The two were due to hold a special episode of the "Cutting Edge" and the "Peep Show", which they ironically decided to call "The Cutting Edge Peep Show", as well guest host the last Raw of 2014. Edge looked up and caught sight of the Davenport native and waved.

"Hey, Seth, do you want a picture or are you just gonna stand there?" The Rated R Superstar joked, "I'll even throw in an autograph for good measure."

"I'm good, thanks. I'm sure there are other people who'd want your dirty fingers all over their stuff more than I do," he shouted back as he walked towards his dressing room.

Throwing his bag down on the sofa in his dressing room, Seth headed for the shower, emerging twenty minutes later, with a towel wrapped around his waist. He opened the mini-fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, his phone beeped.

"_Last Raw of 2014, enjoy it while you can!"_

Seth frowned and went to send a reply, but Joey Mercury knocked on the door telling him it was time for his match. He sighed, putting his phone in his bag and heading out to the arena. It was time to take someone else out of the equation.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Hotel Monaco – Washington, DC<strong>

"What in the world….?"

Paige leant against the cold glass of the vending machine, her make-up leaving a mark as she pulled back from the glass. She frowned and leant against the glass again, making sure she had definitely seen what she thought it was.

"Who the heck puts something like that in a vending machine?" she asked herself, inserting some change into the coin slot.

Tucked away on the top shelf was a small dark Grey USB, blink and you could easily have missed it. The device fell into the tray at the bottom, a few seconds later and the Diva reached into the bottom to pick up her purchase. Turning the small device over in her hands, Paige headed back towards the lift. Whatever was on this USB she now held in her hands, was clearly important and so she tucked it into the breast pocket of her jacket. She waited until she was in the safe vicinity of her hotel room, before pulling the device out of her pocket and heading into the bedroom, grabbing her laptop.

Maybe this little item had information to do with what happened at the Tampa Bay stadium. The likelihood of that were a million to one, but that still didn't mean it wasn't possible. Taking a deep breath, Paige inserted the USB into the slot on the side of her laptop and grabbed a bottle of wine from the mini fridge. For some reason she couldn't shake this dark feeling that something terrible was going to show up. Something that would change her life forever, she opened the bottle and took a few swigs, taking another deep breath.

"Oh, come on, Paige," she said in an attempt to calm her nerves, "What's the worst that could happen?"

She clicked on the folder and found an entire number of documents, memos, saved emails, encrypted files and all that jazz.

"What the fuck is all this?" Paige frowned in confusion and took a swig from the bottle she had in her lap.

She had absolutely no idea what any of this was. It was clear that it was going to take her some time to process all of this information and find out exactly who it belonged to. Trying to get a hacker would be pointless; she had no idea where to start or how to find them. As she scrolled through the document something caught her eye. She clicked on what looked to be a video and realised that it was surveillance tape footage. The date at the bottom left was that of the day the Tampa Bay incident, so it was no surprise when she realised that the footage was off the stadium itself. Taking her third swig from the wine bottle, the young Brit pressed the play button and sat back to watch whatever was happening unfold. And sure enough, she got the answer to a question she had been asking for the past month, no thanks to a certain Diva.

"You have got to be kidding me."

* * *

><p><strong>Monday Night Raw – Verizon Centre – After Seth vs Roman<strong>

"GODAMMIT, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Seth shrieked, shoving throwing Jamie Noble out of the way, and heading towards Big Show, "What the fuck was that?"

"I just did what I had to do," Big Show replied.

"That's it? That's all you have to say? Are you fucking kidding me?" Seth threw his hands in the air and let out a frustrated growl, "What the hell do you think I was doing in the ring, standing there and looking stupid?"

Big Show opened his mouth but Seth held up his hand and carried on before the giant could even say a word.

"You know what, save it. If it's not you, it's these two fucking goofs behind me. Fuck this," The Architect declared, turning around to see Kane standing there.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Talk that fucking gigantic idiot. I'm done with this shit."

Seth slammed his door shut and fell onto the sofa, sighing in frustration. He didn't see why Big Show had to what he did. It was none of his business, he was sticking his giant nose in where it wasn't needed or even wanted. Reaching out he grabbed hold of the drink he had left on the coffee table and squirted it all over his face. He wasn't in the mood to have a shower, so a bottle of water was good enough for now. Right now, he had other problems to sort out. The return of The Authority and he had no idea what he was going to do. He thought that beating Cena at TLC would have helped him to do that, but the Boston Native got the better of him, something Seth was going to make sure never happened again.

He stood up and headed out into the hall, he needed to grab something from catering. He was too hungry. He headed past a few rooms he heard muffled voices coming from a room at the end of the hall. He came to stop and ducked behind a storage box opposite, listening in on the conversation.

"He has no idea?" the first guy asked.

"Not a clue. The worst thing about it is the fact I could have stopped and I didn't. I knew what I was going to do the second I opened the door."

"Well, damn. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I couldn't, didn't have time to. Figured it would be better face-to-face."

"Are you kidding me? Do you not know about he-"

Seth frowned, wondering who they were talking about. He moved across the hall, placing his back against the wall on the left of the door, tilting his head so he could hear much of the conversation. Someone in a relationship, by the sounds of it. The second guy's voice sounded familiar to him, but he couldn't place who it was. They were whispering for some reason, as if they didn't want to be overheard.

"Oh, I know, I've always known. I just couldn't resist. It was just too tempting. Besides, I had to see something."

"See something?" the first guy repeated, confused, "What do you mean by that?"

"I had to see if I could keep up."

"And did you?" the first guy asked, laughing.

"Oh, believe me, I did. I really did," the second stated standing up and heading towards the door, "She left me this."

Seth returned to his hiding spot behind the storage box and watched as the two men walked down the corridor. Seth clenched his fists together, his knuckles cracking, as the realisation hit him. He came out from his hiding spot and walked into the room they had just come from pushing open the door. His eyes caught sight of something folded on the arm of a chair and his eyes blew ablaze with fury. He roared in frustration and flipped the table across the room, sending all sort of objects flying everywhere.

"_Two can play it that game," _he thought himself as he left and headed towards the arena.

He had never felt so hungry for revenge in his life. His phone beeped, as he headed down the hall, pulling out from his pocket Seth saw that the mysterious texting partner had sent him an image. He opened up the message and launched his phone across hall, scaring a few people from the production team who were in mid conversation as it broke into a million pieces.

"_Happy New Year!"_

A cold smirk etched onto the face of Mr Money in the Bank as he headed down the hall towards the arena. Everyone that caught his gaze shuddered, stepping out of his way. He had never been hungrier for revenge is his life. Thanks to that conversation, he had finally figured out how he was going to bring back The Authority and that picture had just given him the perfect way to do it.

* * *

><p>"JOHN, WHO ARE YOU TODAY?" Seth shrieked as Cena pulled of his t-shirt, "WHO ARE YOU REALLY, JOHN? ARE YOU THE PHONY I'VE BEEN CALLING OUT FOR MONTHS OR ARE YOU THE REAL DEAL, JOHN? Bring. The Authority. Back. BRING THE AUTHORITY BACK OR I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL BREAK HIS NECK!"<p>

The Architect could feel the adrenaline was running through him as he could feel The Rated R superstar squirming under his foot and it added to his emotion. Fire was raging through his veins as he looked into the eyes of John Cena. He could see the 15-time world champion trying to figure out what to do, but it was useless. The only way John could save this situation was to give in. It was just that simple. And he knew it; Seth could see it in his eyes. The fear of having to comply and what it would mean was evident. They both knew that there was no other way out of this. It was time for them to see what they would truly become.

Seth had had enough with the Cenation Leader. He had had enough of Cena making his life a misery. Because that's what it was right now. The people who had helped get to the place he was in now, gone. His own girlfriend, the one person in the world who truly cared about him hadn't spoken to him because he had lied to her. The only thing he had was his briefcase and the hope that he would one day become champion. A hope that, thanks to Cena, seemed to be a lot further away than he anticipated.

"You've made my life hell since Survivor Series. I will take no shame; I will find no guilt in doing this. I will make your life filled with regret for the rest of it. Any kid that you will have will not be proud of their father and this man will not be able to hold his kid in his hands ever again," Seth continued his voice raging with anger and frustration over the way he had been treated the last 5 weeks.

It was as if he was back in The Shield. Being taken for granted and treated like absolute shit. He was past that, he gotten over that. And yet, here he was, going through the same thing. It was messing with him mentally and he hated that. He hated someone messing with his hand because it made him vulnerable and he had been through that with Dean. He didn't need to go through it again.

"Stop, stop, stop, stop," Cena pleaded, taking a breath, "Okay."

The Boston native realised he had no choice. Seth had done as he said; he had forced Cena's hand. Pushed him into a corner with no way out and there was only one way to go. One decision he had to make, but it meant going renouncing the very thing he said to do.

"What did he say?" Seth asked, sending Jamie Noble to give him a mic, "I want the whole world to hear this. Say it again, John, say it again."

"I bring back The Authority," the former champion said, defeated.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what did you just say?" Seth teased, asking the question for the sake of it, "What did you just say hu-"

"I SAID I BRING BACK THE AUTHORITY!" Cena interrupted, the realisation of what he had just said finally hitting him.

BOOM! And just like that, the game had changed. Everything that Cena had worked so hard to accomplish eradicated with one sentence. That was all it took. In that one sentence, his entire world came crashing down around him and Seth was back on top again. But he wasn't going to leave it there. He was going to show Cena exactly what happened when you get on the wrong side of Seth Rollins.

"Thanks for bringing back The Authority, but you know me better than that man. I'm going to kill him anyway," he smirked.

"No!" he screamed, heading towards the ring only to be taken out by Cesaro and Titus O'Neil, the two new additions to The Authority's security.

Titus kicked Cena in the back of leg, forcing him onto his knees, powerless to watch what was about to unfold. He tried to break free but the two powerhouses were using all their strength to keep the Cenation leader on the ground. There was nothing he could do. Seth took a few steps back and took one last look at Cena; his face filled with nothing but pure hate, as he leapt into the air and brought his foot with an unprecedented amount of force onto Edge's skull. The cracking of his skull echoed throughout the arena, quickly followed by Cena's terror filled scream. Seth knelt down towards the now unconscious and paralysed Edge and leaned towards his ear.

"You think I didn't find out?" Seth whispered, "No one touches my girl."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And there we have it, chapter 13 done and dusted. Please don't forget to review and add to your favourites. <strong>

**For more of the Seven Deadly Sin Series, don't forget to read the following: **

**"Envy" by MellyxBrooks**

**"Temptation" by EloquentAngel90**

**"Pride" by RonTheRonin**

**See you next chapter!**

**XxPikaSixJoyxX**


	14. All I Need

**AN: Here we are with chapter fourteen. I have to apologise for such a long gap between updates. The last month or so has been crazy, uni's finished and I'm still trying to get myself together. I think I feel pretty good about this chapter. **

**Thanks to all those who reviewed 13, I'm glad that the twist went down really well. **

**With no further ado, here's chapter 14!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter Fourteen<strong>

"_I CREATED YOU DAMMIT!" Seth roared as through the cold hard wind that forced him to raise his voice. _

_Paige was waiting, lurking in the shadows, Taser in her hand just waiting for the time to strike. She watched as Roman ran towards The Architect and fired the gun, meeting her target. The power that took over her mind reminded her of when she had taken out Charlotte a few months ago. She felt nothing as she watched the man known as the Samoan Thor writhing on the ground, No remorse, no shame at all. And she had to admit it felt amazing. It felt good, to have control over someone's life. To have taken them down without even the slightest amount of effort. _

_She stepped out of the shadows, a nasty smile, that sent shivers down Roman's spine, on her face. _

"_Have a nice fall," she smiled, blowing him a kiss as Seth smashed his head with a Curb Stomp watching as Roman descended to what could only be described as a terrible fate. _

_The Anti-Diva headed towards the edge and carefully leaned over, frowning as she looked at the Samoan Thor, expecting to see his crumpled body somewhere in the murky depths below. Instead, she saw herself, still falling ever so slowly. It was as if someone had pointed a remote at slowed down the action. But why was she looking at herself? She suddenly blinked and found herself in the positon of the Paige who was falling. She could see nothing but darkness all around her as she continued to fall on this never ending journey. She could the sound of her own voice calling her name, added with the voice of someone she couldn't recognise. Her heart beat was racing and her palms were beginning to sweat. One minute she felt as though she was on top of the world and the next she feared for her life. _

_All the while, she could see the top of the building so close but yet so far from her grasp. Any attempt she made of trying to reach for the edge was useless, the building began to stretch and she felt as though she was in some form of Wonderland. She could feel the wind blowing across her cheeks, sending her hair into some manic frenzy. With some effort, the Diva managed to turn herself around so she was looking downwards towards her fate, but what she saw confused her; another version of herself falling. Another frown hit her face and before she could even say anything, the doppelganger below her was swallowed up by the darkness that she found herself falling towards. The darkness began to creep up towards her now, a webbed hand reaching out towards her. She opened her mouth to scream but the dark hand was upon her engulfing her face and consuming her as if she were just another meal. _

* * *

><p><span><strong>St Mary's Hospital – December 29<strong>**th**** - Florida**

Her eyes snapped open and the young Brit whipped open into a sitting position, gasping for breath. Her forehead was dripping with sweat and a cold shiver ran over her as she felt someone's hand rest on her arm. Flinching the Diva turned to look into the eyes of Seth Rollins.

"It's okay, you're okay," he reassured her, his voice slightly muffled because of the eve racing sound of her heartbeat pumping in her ears.

Suddenly a throbbing pain began to make itself known and she suddenly felt faint.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're okay. You need to rest," Seth said to her as the young Brit fell back onto the pillow, groaning as she did.

Paige rolled onto her side and closed her eyes.

_This isn't real. He's not real._

She counted to three and opened her eyes again, sighing in relief as she found he wasn't there. Taking a deep breath, the Anti-Diva slowly pulled herself up into a seated position and her hand instinctively went to her head. Her head was pounding, and her ribs stung like mad. She had no idea why she was now lying in a hospital bed with bandages wrapped around her ribcage. The last thing she remembered was someone's arms wrapping around her and her head slamming into concrete before she woke up in hospital. She had no idea of the time or how long it had been since she had last been awake. Something felt odd as if she was missing something, but she couldn't think what.

"What? You don't remember?" Seth asked, his voice coming from behind her.

The young Brit gasped and whipped around to look at The Architect, who was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, the latest CrossFit magazine in his hands.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he smiled, "You have no recollection of what happened?" Paige frowned, shaking her head. All she could remember was the pain and nothing more.

"Nothing? Nothing at all?"

Again, Paige shook her head, ignoring the throbbing pain in her head.

"Well, I guess that's something we're just going to have to change then," he said as he put the magazine back on the table and stood up only to disappear as he headed towards her.

"What the…?"

Rubbing a hand over both her eyes, Paige squinted at the now-empty chair, which only seconds ago held the very man responsible for her current hospitalization despite her not actually knowing that. She ran a hand through her hair and lowered her head. Whatever was going on right now, she couldn't make any sense out of any of it. She was envisioning her boyfriend, despite the fact he was actually in another part of the country.

"Still don't know yet?"

"Jesus!" Paige exclaimed, her heart skipping a beat.

"Whoa, don't shoot me," Seth joked, holding up his hands in surrender, their arms brushing as he raised his hands in the air.

Paige could feel his eyes upon her while they sat side-by-side, and as much as she wanted to look into the eyes of the man she loved, she couldn't bring herself to. Mostly because she knew he wasn't really there. Even if he was, she wouldn't have looked at him anyway. She was still trying to get over the fact he was now a cynical murder.

Seth sighed, smiling as he shook his head, and softly moved a few strands of her hair that were stuck to her cheek.

"_You're not real," _Paige told herself, turning from the Davenport native as he ran his thumb in circles on her cheek, his soft touch making her melt and sick at the same time.

"Maybe this will help", Seth said pointing to the TV screen.

Across the screen in bright red letters was the word "Bonecracker".

"Shit…" Paige whispered as the realisation hit her.

Her hands flew to her head as the memory of what had happened to her came to the forefront of her mind. Within seconds she remembered everything that had happened to her now less than…wait how many days had it been?

"5 days," Seth answered.

"What?"

"You've been in here for 5 days," he told her as ran his hand down her arm.

_Liar, for all I know, I could have been here for a month._

"Why are you here?" she asked, standing up from the bed and stepping away from the bed.

"No idea," he told her, shrugging his shoulders.

Tilting her head, Paige frowned, confusion flooding her brain. She had no idea what was going on. For all she knew, she could have been in some basement or warehouse in the middle of nowhere.

"Listen, you're fine. You have no severe or life-threatening injuries so you're pretty much ready to g-"

"Then why are you here?" Paige repeated, ignoring him.

"I told you, I don't know."

A few minutes of silence passed between them as the Anti-Diva figured out what was happening. She shook her head

Every option she could think of was useless. It was still going to bring her back to Square One, which in this circumstance was her "supposed" private room in the hospital. Seth pulled out a small envelope from his pocket, placed it on the bed and stood up, running his hands down the black shirt he was wearing before returning his gaze to the woman who was glaring at him.

"Look," he said softly, taking a step towards her, "I know you don't belie-"

"Stop," she commanded, "Get out."

Seth turned to the door and shrugged his shoulders again.

"Paige, I ca-"

"Get. Out."

"I think yo-"

"GET OUT!" She exclaimed, as she dropped to her knees, burying her head in her hands.

Her eyes opened seconds later to an empty room and she found herself struggling for air.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Black and Brave Wrestling School – December 30<strong>**th**** - Illinois**

"Again," Seth barked for the third time, as two of his students had just finished a training match in the ring.

He had decided to head down to the school and get away from the crazy life that was travelling on the road. Especially since he had reporters asking him for questions at every petrol station and airport he turned up at, and if it wasn't in person it was social media. He needed a break. The good thing about having a wrestling school and being in Triple H's new protégée meant he could easily bag some time off. As the two trainees came together, all Seth could think about was everything that had happened to him in the past month; particularly the news that Paige had been hospitalised after being found unconscious by the side of the road. He looked down at the bandage on his left hand, a reminder of the wall he had punched in his frustration after he was told the details of how she was found, and sighed. He was forbidden from seeing her, Hunter thought it wasn't a good idea for him to see her considering the possibility of a lawsuit with Edge and he felt that seeing her could be "an unhealthy disturbance that was going to hinder his chances of success." In other words, she would distract him from the end goal which was being the WWE World Heavyweight champion. Unbeknownst to the COO, Seth had already formed a plan in his head that would, if everything went to plan, allow him to get past those standing in his way.

He still couldn't deny that he was angry about not being allowed to see his girlfriend. Sure, things weren't okay between them at the moment, but they were still together, Paige hadn't broken things off, so that had to count for something. All the while he still couldn't get what Edge had told Christian out of his head.

"_He had no idea?"_

"_Not a clue."_

He felt stupid, gullible. It had happened under his nose he was blind to it. He felt as though he had been duped. How could he have let it happen? He pictured a half-naked Paige with her arms wrapped around the Canadian blonde, fingers in his hair, lips pressed together and his fingers taking a tighter grip of the weight he had been holding, readying himself to throw it. Before he was able to launch the weight across the room, one of the two men in the ring fell to the mat with a thud, the echoing sound bringing him back to reality.

Seth put down the weight and watched the two men, folding his arms as the younger of the two, Aaron, was thrown over the shoulder of Dan, a 23 year old from New York, he fell to the mat lopsided and Seth sighed, looking at the floor in disgust.

"Stop!" he snapped, standing up, "What the hell was that?"

The Davenport native climbed into the ring and looked between the both of them.

"You've been here for almost 6 weeks and you still can't do a hip toss. Sort it out. Look, it's not that hard to do it."

The two trainees held their heads in disappointment, the shame of disappointing their favourite WWE wrestler was clear as day. Seth headed back into the corner and told the two to continue, their aim to use submission moves to secure the win.

"Dammit! Come on!" Seth shrieked, moments later, "How hard is it to get someone to get someone to submit?" he asked, shoving Dan out of the way, "Here, come at me."

Aaron nodded and headed towards the Money in the Bank holder, not ready for the gut kick Seth had for him. The youngster fell to his knees, gasping for air, and Seth quickly capitalised with a Surfboard Stretch, his knee pushing into the middle of the newbie's back. By now, the rest of the class had either finished their workouts or were mid-training and were gathering around the ring, but Seth was paying no attention. He leant back, pulling Aaron's arms a little closer towards him, the New Yorker letting out a shriek of pain.

"_It was too tempting."_

_Oh, I'm sure it was. _

Seth looked over at one of the workbenches and saw Paige sitting on Edge's lap, his head buried in her neck, repeatedly kissing her shoulder as she rocked back and forth, and his eyes grew ablaze with anger. The sound of their melted breath ringing in his ears. The Anti-Diva had her hands entangled in the Canadian's short blonde locks. His eyes locked onto the back of the woman he had come to care about, watching as the sweat of the passionate sex he was envisioning rolled down her back.

"Seth…" whispered the Brit through her panted breath.

The Davenport native's grip tightened and he pulled Aaron's arms further, eliciting yet another shriek of pain as well as a few grimaces from those watching.

"See-th…"she repeated, turning her head to look at him, a cold smirk on her face, as she picked up the pace.

Seth growled through gritted teeth and leant further into stretch, still unaware of the pain he was putting Aaron through. He glanced at the youngster and confusion spread across his face.

"What the fuck?"

Instead of a scrawny brown-haired kid, grimacing in pain, he was now staring at the back of the very man he was watching engage in a sexual act with his woman across the room.

"I have to say, she's enjoying this more than you think," Edge laughed, "What can I say? Sometimes going Rated R is better than sticking with a babyface sell out."

That did it. He let out a roar of anger and pulled as far back as he could, until a loud pop echoed throughout the school.

"SETH!" Paige screamed only for the voice of Marek Brave to come from her lips.

Those stood around watching were now stood frozen, the shock all over their faces, still trying to come to terms with what they had just watched. Seth looked up at the up workbench only to see a tall blonde he recognised staring back at him, as if she was enjoying the show.

Marek Brave was already by his friend's side, his hands on top of the Davenport native trying to get him to release his hold but to no avail.

"Seth, come on man," Marek said softly.

But Seth wasn't listening; he was still trying to get the image of Paige being with someone else that wasn't him out of his head. Finally, Seth let go of the man whose arm he had just broken and stood up, looking down at the crumpled heap.

"You clearly haven't got what it takes to make it in this business if you're going to cry over a broken arm. Get out of my school," Seth told him as he looked upon him with disgust before making his way over to the blonde who had been watching him from across the room.

"Well, that was interesting," the blonde smiled as Seth came to a stop opposite her.

"Someone had to show him that he wasn't made for this business, better me than Vince or Michael Hayes."

"Wow, anyone ever tell you that you can sometimes be a cold hearted bastard?" Summer Rae smiled as she followed Seth to a set of ropes at the back of the room.

"I've heard worse," he told her, turning to face her.

"So, wha-"

"Let's just get to it; you can't do what I need you to do until you've trained enough."

"Trained?" Summer frowned, "Are you kidding me? I've trained more than enou-"

Picking up a t-shirt from a pile by the door and threw it at the Blonde Diva who caught it and opened it up to reveal the wrestling school logo printed on the front.

"Not this kind of training you haven't. You've trained when I say you've trained. CrossFit is a whole different ball game, honey, and for you to do what you're doing you have to make sure you are at your strongest, on your "A" game. No slacking. I can't aff- I mean The Authority can't afford for you not to be on the ball, so CrossFit is the best thing for you."

Summer looked at the t-shirt she held in her hands and thought about her current position. Was this really a good decision for her? To be working with the man who had only a few months ago turned on his brothers in front of the entire world? Who's to say that he wouldn't just turn on her and leave her back at Square One? But what were her other options? What else could she do? She wanted a shot at the Diva's title; she wanted the chance to show to the world that she was better than any of the Diva's on the roster just like Seth had, so maybe he was the best way of securing that chance. And whether she wanted to or not, it was just a risk that she was going to have to take.

"CrossFit it is," smiled the New York native, unaware that this game she was about to play was a lot more complex than your average "Cat and Mouse".

* * *

><p><span><strong>The Hilton – December 31<strong>**st**** – New York**

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Rosa Mendes asked as she placed the young Brit's bags down by the door to her hotel room.

Paige nodded and smiled, all she wanted to do right now was sleep. She was pretty jet lagged from flying from the hospital in Florida. She had wanted to go back to Tampa and spend some time at home for a few days, but Triple H had refused. Instead, he told her she needed to fly to the Big Apple, and that was exactly what she did. Rosa Mendes greeted her at JFK and drove her to the hotel. She bid Rosa a quick goodbye and threw her rucksack on the bed. As she headed towards the kitchen, her eyes caught sight of an envelope on the table and the Diva frowned taking a moment before heading into the kitchen and opening the fridge.

"I hope you're not grabbing a beer," a voice came from across the room behind her.

"HOLY FUCK!" exclaimed the Diva, dropping the can of Coke she had grabbed from the fridge.

Seth chuckled as the can bounced on the floor and exploded, showering the Diva's feet in sticky brown liquid.

"It's good to see you too," Mr Money in the Bank smiled.

Paige turned to see Seth leaning against the door to the bedroom, arms folded, and her stomach churned. The last time she had seen her boyfriend, if she could even call him that anymore, was the night he smashed in Edge's head on live TV. Here he was three days later, in her hotel room and the young Brit found herself despising the sight of him.

"I want you to leave," she declared, picking up the busted Coke can.

"Look, just…I know you probably don't want to see me b-"

"You're right," Paige interrupted, "I don't."

Rolling his eyes, Seth sighed and carried on.

"But, I just need you to hear me out for a second, okay?"

"No, it's not actually. I should be at home, in my own bed, sleeping. Instead, I'm here in some bloody expensive hotel room, with you in my room. What the heck are you doing here?"

"This is why," Seth replied, holding out the envelope he had picked up from the table.

Paige reached out to take it and hesitated a moment, locking eyes with the Davenport native who had closed the distance between them. She wasn't sure what was going to be in the envelope, but she figured it had to be important or else Seth wouldn't have delivered it himself. Finally she took the gold and red envelope and opened it, pulling out what looked to be an invitation.

_Masquerade Ball 12/31/14_

_Times Square._

_Masks only. There will be free food. _

_Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged – Samuel Johnson. _

"What the heck is this?" she asked, the confusion spreading across her face.

"Everything you need to know is on the card," Seth told her.

Rolling her eyes, the young Diva headed over to the bags, shoving the invitation into Seth's chest as she passed him.

"Well, you can go on your own," she snapped, "There's no way I'm going to some stupid masquerade ball. Besides I don't even have a dress."

"That's all been arranged," he smiled to himself before turning around to face her.

"What?"

Seth closed the distance between them a second time and picked up her bag, taking it into the bedroom.

"_I know what you're doing, and I'm not falling for it," _she said to herself.

Reluctantly Paige followed him into the bedroom and gasped. Laid out across the double bed was a blood red dress with layers of black tulle on one side. The bodice was covered in black jewels and glistened in the light. Paige couldn't believe it. She had never seen a dress so beautiful. She picked it up and held it against her body, still in awe.

"If you think that this is going to get me to talk to you again, then you're wrong," she told him.

"You should be lucky I'm even here in the first place," Seth growled.

Paige huffed and raised one eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, and why's that?"

"I'm not the one who cheated remember?"

Paige opened her mouth to say something, but she had nothing. Seth was right. The very reason that Edge was in hospital was her doing. She had broken the one rule you don't ever break whilst in a relationship and here she was, taking it out on him. Seth had only retaliated because she hadn't told him. But could he blame her? She had her reasons. The very man she loved could potentially be a cold hearted killer, the fact he hadn't even told her about what happened at the stadium the day Vince McMahon died only added to her fears.

"Seth, I'm going to ask you something and I need you to tell me the truth, okay?"

Seth could already tell what she was working through in her mind just by the way her eyes were moving. He knew his answer was most likely going to change the course of their relationship, but he figured it would be better if he just saved her the pain and awkwardness of asking.

"Yes, I killed him," he stated, "I killed David Otunga."

Paige's eyes widened and the dress fell from her arms. The two stood opposite each in complete silence as Seth's confession began to settle. Neither of them could speak. The silence wasn't awkward or tense or uncomfortable, it was…calm. Before either of them could speak, Seth's phone beeped and he pulled it out of his pocket to see that he had an incoming call from none other than Paul Heyman. Sighing, the Davenport native pressed the "Decline" button and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Paige, listen," Seth said softly, "I know you probably hate me right now, and never want to see me ever again, but for this one night I need you. After tonight, you don't ever have to see me again. Well, okay you do, because we work together, but we don't have to talk to-"

"What do you need Seth?" Paige asked.

"You," he replied, "By my side. To tell you the truth, I'm scared and I nee-"

His phone rang again interrupting him for a second time.

"Do you mind if I take this? I won't be long."

And with that Seth headed outside into the corridor, closing the door behind him.

"I don't like people ignoring my calls, Mr Rollins," Paul Heyman told him, "Especially those who are my business partners."

"I'm surprised that you even have the guts to call me that, Paul."

Unimpressed the voice of The Beast, Brock Lesnar continued.

"Now, are you sure you're ready for what is about to happen tonight?"

"What do you take me for? Of course I am! You don't need to worry, everyone will pull through."

"They better, Mr Rollins or you will be paying for it dearly."

Seth began to pace back and forth and suddenly stopped. Was he threatening him?

"I don't take kindly to threats, so I suggest you better beware what comes out of your poisonous mouth."

"And neither do I," Paul replied, "As I'm sure you have a seen that I am a man of my word. I don't make a threat or promise unless I intend to follow through; can the same be said about you?"

Seth couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had Paul not watched the last few months of Raw? Not heard the news? Seth had proved that he was more than capable of being a force not to be reckoned with. The fact that Heyman couldn't see that pissed him off, but at the same time it didn't surprise him. A man like Paul Heyman was only interested in whatever he wanted to be interested in; which in Paul's case was usually one of three things. The WWE World Heavyweight championship, ways of getting ahead of The Authority or his client, Brock Lesnar. So it was no surprise that Paul was oblivious to what Seth had been doing these past few months.

"Don't you worry your little tubby self; I'm just as dangerous as your ignoramus of a client. I haven't forgotten that he happened to assault my girlfriend."

"Oh, that was just a precaution to assure you were on our side. Nothing personal," Paul assured him.

Seth clenched his fists and somehow managed to hold back from launching his phone at the wall opposite in his frustration. Of course it was expected whenever it came to talking to Paul Heyman albeit face-to-face or on the phone, even in emails, but that didn't mean he still wasn't going to get worked up about it.

"NOTHING PERSONAL?" Seth shrieked, quickly lowering his voice, "It's like I told you at the meeting, I have a Diva wrapped around my finger who has a man wrapped around her finger and with Emma and my other asset in place there's no way this won't go wrong. My end of the bargain will hold up. Always does. Just make sure that yours does too," the Davenport native stated before hanging up.

He turned and slammed the side of his fist against the wall, leaning his head against the cold surface as he sighed. While he woke up this morning feeling pretty good mood, here he was a few hours later more nervous than he had ever been in his life. There was a lot riding on tonight's party and Paige was his grounder. The one thing that kept him on solid ground and now he wasn't even sure if she was with him anymore. Within seconds he was losing control of almost everything he had worked so hard to set into place. He glanced over at the door to Paige's hotel room and gave a half-hearted smile before heading towards the lift. The door opened and the former Diva's champion stepped out into the hallway, wearing the dress Seth had given her.

"Hey mister, where do you think you're going?"

Seth turned and stood in awe of the woman who had so proudly stood by his side and the look in her eyes brought a beaming smile across his face. The dress accentuated her curves and fitted her slim frame better than Seth could have hoped for. Her hair was swept over one shoulder and he could tell she had no shoes on. She looked like a goddess.

"I don't know if you know but there's a suit that needs to be put on. I can't exactly turn up on my own, you know?"

Seth closed the distance and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"You think I would let you do that?" he asked, running his hands up and down her arms.

"With you, I don't know what you'd let me do anymore," she declared.

Seth brought two fingers under her chin and raised her head so he could look into her eyes. Paige could see the conflict in his eyes, but behind that conflict and anger she saw something that she hadn't seen since she last saw him. Devotion. She had seen it in his eyes the day he told her he loved her.

"I know, I know, I just…I'm sorry."

Paige smiled and wrapped her arms around him. Maybe she could put aside the problems just for one night. Just celebrate the end of the year as happy as she could allow herself to be right now with the current circumstances.

"One night," she said against his chest.

One night and that was all Seth was going to need.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So there we have it, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Don't forget to review and add to your favourites. <strong>

**Also don't forget to follow the other stories part of the Seven Deadly Sins series: **

**"Envy" by MellyXBrooks**

**"Temptation" by EloquentAngel90**

**"Pride" by RonTheRonin**

**See you next chapter! **

**XxPikaSixJoyxX**


	15. There's No Getting Away

**AN: So here we are guys, the penultimate chapter. It's long overdue, which is why it's so long. Quick shout out to RonTheRonin for helping me out with this and reading a couple sections for me. Thanks Ronnie! **

**Well, without further ado here's chapter 15!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 15<strong>

**George's Bar – January 1****st**** - New York **

Seth stepped out into the garden and headed towards the booth tucked away in the corner, sliding over one of the beers he had in his hands.

"Get that down you," he said, taking a swig of his own, "It'll help with the shock."

Paige did as Seth told her and took a big swig of her beer. She was still shaking from the events of the New Year's Masquerade ball. Seth took hold of her free hand and squeezed it, taking another swig of his beer. The night couldn't have gone better. Everything had gone just as Seth had hoped. He couldn't have been happier than he was right now.

As for Paige, she was still trying to process the events of what had just happened. She was still in Seth's jacket that he had draped over her shoulders once they arrived at the now quiet bar.

"I can't believe you were able to bribe him into letting us in," Paige finally said.

"Money well spent," he replied, taking another swig of his beer.

She had barely uttered a single word since they had arrived at the ball. Everything about her night had just gone from bad to worse within the space of a few hours, and now here she sat, pale as a ghost, fearing for her life. It wasn't exactly the greatest way she had wanted to see in 2015, but there wasn't anything she could about it now. Her heart was still racing from the mix of fear and shock and utter confusion and she couldn't seem to focus on one single thought. Her mind was racing just as fast. Taking another swig of her beer, the Anti-Diva looked down at the hand that was entwined with hers. The hand that belonged to Seth Rollins and she suddenly remembered something he had said to her last night.

"_Don't say a word but I'll tell you tomorrow."_

Paige pushed up the sleeve of Seth's shirt and checked the time it was already 1:30 therefore making it tomorrow. There was no way she was going to go to bed without knowing everything about tonight. She quickly downed the rest of her beer and her stomach churned. She hated asking these kinds of questions because it made her feel as though she was questioning his every move, which wasn't the case at all. Something seemed different with Seth. It was as though the man who was sitting on her left wasn't the man she had seen behind closed doors. He was someone else. Someone she didn't recognise. It was hard looking at him and knowing that he was now a cold-blooded killer. But through all that there was still that sense of love and devotion he had for her. But that's all it seemed to be at the moment a small sense. She was beginning to wonder if Seth was losing himself on his quest to become the WWE World Heavyweight champion and taking her with him.

"Seth…" she said softly.

"Hmm?" he said turning to face her.

"It…it is tomorrow."

Seth closed his eyes and took a deep breath; he knew exactly what it was she wanted to know and he knew there was no way of getting out of this. After all he did say to her that he was going to tell her, part of him just didn't expect it to be so soon. But then again, it was Paige who was asking and she never was one to wait when it came to deep conversations such as this.

"Paige…"

The dark haired beauty turned to face him and cupped his cheek. Their eyes locked and she gave a half-hearted smile.

"It's okay," she said softly, "Whatever it is, I can take it."

"Not this you can't," Seth sighed.

And he was right. He knew Paige better than she knew herself, just like she knew him. He knew that everything he was about to tell her was going to change the course of their relationship for sure. There was no doubt about that. No doubt at that at all.

* * *

><p><strong>The Hilton – January 1<strong>**st**** – New York**

Pulling open the door, the Anti-Diva stepped out on the balcony and sat down in one of the two sun loungers. The bags under her eyes were almost as dark as her hair. She had barely gotten any sleep last night, the revelations of what Seth had been up to for the last few months were still running through her head. It was much worse than she thought. She took downed the glass of Vodka she had grabbed from the mini fridge earlier and let out a sigh of disbelief.

"_How did I end up here?" _she thought to herself.

How indeed? How did she allow herself to become so swallowed up by all of this drama? She had her own life to deal with. Her own problems, and although Seth was with her, and she with him, that still didn't help her at all. Her problems were still unsolved. Her business still unfinished. Seth, on the other hand, had everything going for him, everything was in place for him. Why? The answer was simple.

The Authority.

They were behind him from the very moment he had turned on his brothers, and here he was 7 months later still with team of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon behind him.

The young Brit stood up and headed into the bedroom and stopped in the middle of the room. Seth was still fast asleep, sprawled out across the bed. Paige let out a soft sigh as she looked up at The Architect. She headed over to him and reached for a strand of hair that was stuck to his cheek, but pulled her hand back. As she looked at him, she couldn't bring herself to touch him. The man lying in her bed right now wasn't the man she knew. Whoever he was, he wasn't Seth Rollins that was for sure. Whatever this…relationship is it wasn't the same. He was different. And it didn't matter how hard she tried to tell herself that he wasn't, he was and there was no escaping that. He had become blinded by this horrible need to prove he was the best, the man with all the plans and the one who needed to be on top and that was not someone whose side she could stand beside. Not anymore.

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly, mostly to herself and to the man she loved.

But there was no denying it. She couldn't do this anymore. The young Brit tiptoed back out into the main room, grabbing a pen and a piece of paper from the side table by the balcony door. She quickly scribbled a letter, sighing as she signed her name at the bottom. Placing the letter on the table, Paige picked up her bag, which was already packed for the flight to Texas, and crossed the room to the door. She would have gone back to the bedroom, but she couldn't bring herself to look at the man she had supported the past 7 months. One look and she would have been in that bed, arms wrapped around the Davenport native but it was too late for that. She needed to get out while she still had the chance.

"Goodbye Seth," Paige said softly as she opened the door and headed out into the corridor, closing another chapter of her life she was beginning to regret.

* * *

><p><span><strong>The Authority's Office – January 5<strong>**th**** – Texas**

"You know I've gotta say that you, Seth, have done more than we had ever imagined you'd do. You've exceeded our expectations, and for that rewards are given. We think it's time that you move to the next level," Hunter told him as he handed the Davenport native a glass of champagne.

"It's time," Stephanie agreed, "I mean if not for you then we wouldn't be here, Seth. It's you that got us reinstated and the way that you did that was genius. Getting John Cena into a situation that left him no choice but to do what you wanted is something that no one, not even us has ever been able to do. And for that we are incredibly grateful."

Hunter handed a glass to Stephanie and slid his arm around her waist, raising his glass in the air. J & J Security and Kane all too raised their glasses.

"To the man who singlehandedly reinstated our jobs and the new addition to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at the Rumble, a man who is destined to be the future of this company. To Seth Rollins," Hunter stated raising his glass and taking a sip.

Seth's mouth fell open with shock. Did he just hear right? He frowned as he looked in the golden liquid swirling around the glass he was holding.

"This isn't a joke, is it?" he asked, mentally kicking himself for asking such a stupid question.

Stephanie left her husband's side and headed over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Do you really think we would make that kind of a joke with you?" she asked, to which Seth hesitantly shook his head, "Of course not. It's like Hunter said, we've invested a lot in you, Seth, and we believe that you are the future of this company. It lies with you. It's time we show the WWE Universe why we believe that. You are destined for the top, that briefcase is proof of that, and now it's time you climbed the ladder."

Seth took a good swig of his champagne and took a moment to let the news sink in. He was going to be in the main event at the Royal Rumble in two weeks. He was going against the Boston superhero, John Cena and The Beast incarnate, Brock Lesnar. A man who he had seen destroy John Cena at Summerslam a few months before. He had been in Triple Threats before but that was nothing compared to what he was going to be faced with in two weeks' time. This main event was a whole different scale. It was the big league's now and Seth was determined to prove he had what it takes, but not the WWE Universe, he couldn't give a damn about them, but to The Authority, the people who had invested their time in him, their business in him. He was determined to make them proud.

"Thank you," he smiled, "I can't thank you enough. I'm going into the Rumble to fight and I'm going into that main event to win."

Seth spent the next hour with The Authority discussing the game plan and how best to tackle a man of Lesnar's scale. He left their office a few hours later to get ready for tonight's show. As he headed down the hall to go and prepare for tonight's episode of Raw, he passed Nikki Bella. He was more than ready to do battle. It was time for the world to see who Seth Rollins really was.

* * *

><p><span><strong>St. Thomas Church - January 9<strong>**th ****-Tampa**

"What the heck is taking her so long?" Nikki Bella groaned, looking at her nails for the 30th time, "How long to does it take to make a confession?"

Seth rolled his eyes and tucked into some food he had brought with him.

"Longer than you'd think, Nikki. Depends on the confession, I suppose."

"Oh yeah? So if you were in there, what you be asking for forgiveness for?"

"Forgiveness? For the death of an annoying Diva who can't seem to shut the hell up," he snapped.

The Diva's champion huffed and folded her arms, pulling out her iPhone. The two of them had brought Jojo here per her request, something that baffled the two athletes as to why anyone in her situation would need to make a confession.

"What would some innocent little mite like her need to confess to the lord for?" Nikki asked, after minutes of silence, "It doesn't make sense."

"_It sure doesn't," _Seth thought.

"How am I supposed to know? It's not exactly like we're the best of friends, Nikki. I don't know if you've noticed but I don't seem to have many, if any, of them at the moment."

Nikki turned to look at the man sitting on her left and placed her hand on his thigh.

"You have me," she smiled softly.

"This," Seth began, running an imaginary circle in the air between the two of them, "is business. A temporary alliance, nothing more nothing less."

Slowly the girlfriend of John Cena moved her hand from Seth's leg and returned to whatever it was she was doing on her phone.

The Architect reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box, which he grabbed from the jewellers after his meeting with The Authority.

"What's that?" Nikki asked.

He turned over the small box and looked in the direction of the church. Inside that little box held more than just a simple object, it held a plan, _**his **_plan, a plan that could…no, would bring down the man that was Roman Reigns; a plan that could pretty much destroy his chances of being in the Main Event at WrestleMania in two months' time. Perhaps, for now, it was better to say this it was a reminder of that plan; of a risk that a certain someone had decided to take.

"Leverage," he answered, as a cold smiled etched its way across his face.

And he was right.

The tiny shape that was Jojo came tottering out of the church and he stood up.

"It took you long enough," he groaned, crossing his arms.

"Under five minutes like you said," Jojo replied as the three headed across the road, hopping into the SUV he had parked.

The pint sized Diva seemed distracted, as if something was bothering her. Yet she looked as though she had gotten something off her chest. Something that had been something of a burden to her. Seth ignored the little conversation between the two Divas in the back of his car as he pulled the box out of his pocket and opened it. The diamond ring he had paid for earlier sat neatly in the middle, glistening back at him. The mere sight of it filled him with a sense that everything was beginning to fall into place.

"Where are you guys taking me?" Jojo asked, her question, snapping Seth out of his thoughts.

"Just keeping my word on my part of the deal," he answered, handing her the box he quickly wrapped up, "Give this to Sasha for me, late Christmas gift."

He watched in the rear view mirror as Jojo slipped the box into her bag before starting up the engine.

"_One person at a time, Seth. One person at a time."_

That was all it was going to take. He already had Sasha and Emma under his fingers, soon the man the WWE Universe liked to call The Samoan Thor would be joining them. Of course, he wasn't expecting it to happen with a snap of his fingers, oh no. He knew that Roman was the type of man to go down without a fight, Dean too. But that was exactly what he was going to give them. And he was ready; he was ready for whatever they had for him. This was the fight he had been waiting for. He glanced over at the golden briefcase sitting on the passenger seat and smiled. The Road to WrestleMania had truly begun, and so had the road to the future of the WWE.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Georgia Hotel – January 24<strong>**th**** – Philadelphia **

The Architect emerged from the lift and headed down the hall, a case of beer in his hand. He pulled out the key card from the back pocket of his jeans and opened the door to the penthouse. One of the perks of travelling with The Authority was the hotel rooms they managed to assign you to. This one was no different; Seth was standing in a large open space room, with bay windows across the entire living area. With beige drapes that had been pulled shut. There was a deep red sofa on Seth's left facing a widescreen TV that had been secured to the wall above an electric fireplace. Seth frowned as he stood in the middle of the room, it was far too quiet and he knew that Hunter was in here. What else could the COO possibly be doing that didn't involve making plans? He certainly wasn't sleeping, that's for sure. If there was one thing Seth had learned whilst under the mentorship of The Game, it was that he didn't sleep. If he did, he never got much at all. He was always alert, always planning. Something seemed odd to Seth.

Setting the case of beer on the coffee table in the middle of the room, Seth headed towards the bedroom and reached for the door handle. He opened the door and found the COO looking out of the window. The curtains on either side were pulled so close that there was a tiny gap and he seemed to be looking out of the window at something. Slowly, he made his way over to the former world champion and saw what it was he was looking at.

"_You have got to be kidding me."_

Across the building was none other than Sasha Banks and underneath her was the man who Seth just couldn't seem to get rid of, Roman Reigns. He looked at his mentor and took a step away from him.

"Unbelievable," he said, annoyed with what he was now staring at.

It was typical. He should have known that Sasha wouldn't be able to resist staying away from him. She was too weak to his "wily" charms, although Seth couldn't seem to understand that at all. Fact was, her horny state of mind had put his plan at risk. He knew it was too good to trust her, to trust that she was actually able to stay away from him. 24 hours that's all he was asking for, how hard could it be?

Well, Sasha's balcony romp had proved it was pretty much impossible. Seth turned to see the stunned face of Paige, who he had asked to meet him here and grabbed her arm, taking them out into the hall.

"Next time you want to talk, don't do it when Big Nose is in creepy stalk-on-people-whilst-their-having-sex-on-a-balcony-in-another-hotel okay? That's fucking sick," she snapped, pushing him from her and heading into the lift.

Seth watched the doors to the lift closed and slammed his fist against the wall in frustration.

"Dammit!" he exclaimed.

Just when everything seemed to be put back into place, it was like someone had snapped it right from underneath him. He needed to make sure that this plan was still going ahead. There was no backing out now.

"_Attacking Eve to get your way? Applause, but I gotta give you a thumbs down for actually developing feelings for Mr. Reigns…that was NOT part of the plan at all." _

He pressed send and ended up with a reply within seconds.

"_Still keeping tabs on everything I do? Aww I miss you too -_- BTW you'll never know what I'm feeling or what I want until I tell you." _

Seth couldn't help but laugh. Sasha could try and cover it up all she wanted, but she wasn't that good. He knew and the more he thought about it, the better it made him feel. Because she had just given him even more hope than he thought.

Seth frowned as he headed down to the lobby, turning to look at the door to the penthouse. He knew that they had discussed in keeping surveillance on the Samoan Thor and the ma threatening their power, but watching them engage in sexual activities on a balcony through a telescope was a little more than just keeping surveillance. Shaking his head, Seth quickly pushed the thought out of his head. He had other, more important, things to think about right now. He couldn't afford to have anything that was going to take him away from his goal and that was the WWE World Heavyweight championship. He exited the lift on the 5th floor and headed down to his hotel room, he needed a late night run to get his head into gear for tomorrow's Pay-Per-View. If there was one thing that tomorrow's Rumble had made Seth certain of, it was that he was going to have the battle of his career in that squared circle.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Royal Rumble – January 25<strong>**th****- Philadelphia **

Paige pushed through the curtain and groaned. Her head was pounding and her muscles felt weak. A loss against the Bella twins was just not was she needed given the circumstances. She needed to be on a high now that the Road to WrestleMania had officially begun, so a loss was something she couldn't afford right now.

Every part of her ached, the Bella's had really taken it to her and the Canadian bombshell. The Anti-Diva headed down the hall, Nattie following her closely and she tried not to think about the match she had just lost.

"What was that?" Nattie asked.

"Excuse me?"

"What happened out there? You should have been pulling your weight; we could have won that match. I could have had the pin if you hadn't ha-"

"You have gotta be kidding me," the young Brit mumbled under her breath.

"I'm not actually," Nattie huffed coming to a stop and folding her arms, "Learn to pull your weight."

Paige shook her head and chuckled slightly. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Of all the times for Nattie to be a self-centred bitch it had to be now didn't it?

"'Learn to pull my weight'? What the heck is wrong with you? I wasn't the one who got pinned!" Paige snapped, her voice rising.

Nattie gasped, clearly offended, not that Paige gave a damn. All she wanted to do right now was to get in a bath and get ready for the next time she was able to face off against the double act.

Nattie opened her mouth to speak, but Paige stopped her by holding up her hand.

"Do you know what? Save it. Why don't you just skip of back to your dressing room and blame everyone else around you? Or better yet go and whine to your superhero husband about how I was the one who cost us the match. Because everyone knows how great a listener he i-"

Before Paige could finish her sentence she was greeted with a hand to her face by the blonde Diva; her head whipping around to the side with the force of the slap. She could feel blood running through her mouth as she turned back to face Nattie.

"Count yourself lucky," Paige told her, her voice as cold as ice.

"Why's that?"

"If I didn't have such a massive headache right now I'd have smashed your head into that wall, but I can barely walk without every bone in my body screaming so count yourself lucky,"

And with that Paige left her tag partner standing frozen with fear as she continued on down the hall. As she rounded the corner, a sharp pain hit her gut. She let out a gasp and fell to one knee, holding the wall for support. She had never felt anything like it before. It wasn't a stitch or a muscle strain, it was worse, as though she was being stabbed. Paige tried to stand but she couldn't, all her mind could think about was the searing pain in her gut. She could feel the sweat beginning to build on her forehead and suddenly the hallway felt like she was in a sauna. Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears, added with the headache she felt earlier, she felt as though she could pass out at any second.

"_Move," _she told herself, _"Get up and move."_

Slowly, she fell back against the wall and as she pushed herself up to her feet, the pain had gone. Just like that.

Paige frowned and poked her gut in confusion. What the heck had just happened?

One second she's on the floor screaming in pain and the next she was as fit as a fiddle, it was as if her body had just reset itself. Her headache had gone, her muscles no longer felt weak and the sharp, searing pain in her gut no longer existed. Had she just had some stranger inner-body experience? Do those kind of things even happen to people? Her brows furrowed as she tried to find some kind of explanation as to whatever had caused the insufferable pain she had just endured. Whatever it was, there was no explanation for it. She rested her head against the wall and slid down to the floor. Crazy weird experience or not, the fact still remained that the Bella's were still "in charge" of the division and it meant it was to change the game again.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Royal Rumble – Triple Threat Match – Philadelphia <strong>

"This is it, say hello to the new world champion," Seth said to himself as he headed towards the turnbuckle.

Jumping up to the top rope, Seth quickly hit a Phoenix Splash, the crowd roaring with excitement. It was over, the match was done. But before he could capitalise The Beast Incarnate grasped Seth around his waist and launched him over his head in with a vicious German Suplex, quickly hitting Cena with the same vicious move, the Boston native rolling out of the ring. Brock now turned his attention back to Seth and threw his arms around The Architect for second time, only for Seth to land on his feet. As he did, he spotted the gold shine that was his Money in the Bank briefcase and swiped it up as he made his way over to the current champion, smashing it into his head. But it wasn't enough, Brock quickly got to his feet only to be knocked down again by the briefcase.

"_There was only one way to finish this," _Seth said to himself.

And he was right, there was no way he could keep the man that was Brock Lesnar down for more than 3 seconds and so desperate times called for desperate measures. Seth slid the briefcase underneath Brock's head, so it sat like a pillow of sorts. Only this "pillow" was going to end his career, just like he had almost done with Dean Ambrose a few months ago.

Cena was still lying outside in a collapsed heap from when Lesnar had thrown him out of the ring. Seth had quickly capitalised by smashing Lesnar's head with the Money in the Bank briefcase.

The crowd were electric as they realised what he was about to do. It was safe to say that this match was going to go down in the history books. Seth had made definitely held his own against the two veterans. But they were just veterans Seth was a legend in the making, a future main eventer and the result of this match was going to prove that. He already knew that, he had done for years. Now it was time for the world to finally listen. He backed himself into a corner and ran towards Brock, readying himself to finish the move. What he wasn't expecting to happen was Brock to jump up and capitalise with an F5. Three seconds later, the WWE Universe were on their feet, some cheering in celebration, others screaming in outrage. It didn't matter, the fact was Brock Lesnar had survived yet another title match. He was still the champion, and that had frustrated Seth more than anything in the world. He had his chance, his moment to shine and take over but he had failed. He had failed, and there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Royal Rumble – January 24<strong>**th**** – After Triple Threat Match **

"Everyone's talking about you," Joey Mercury told him, "They're saying what a great match that was and how great you loo-"

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER!" Seth cut him off, throwing his glass of champagne across the room.

"I know, bu-"

"NO BUTS, THAT TITLE SHOULD BE MINE!"

"I know, I jus-"

"You just what?" Seth asked turning to him.

Joey looked at Jamie, who shrugged, and opened his mouth to say something but Seth beat him to it.

"Let me guess, you just thought it would be something positive that I can think about when I look back at this right? Well, unless you can tell me that the ending of that match was a dream and I did in fact smash Brock's head with a Curbstomp and he just decided to "do a Dean" and steal from me I don't want to hear anything that comes out of your pathetic mouth."

Seth stood up and ran a hand through his now frizzy hair. It felt just like he did right now. Absolute shit. He had that match in the bag, he had played his cards right, yet Brock had still managed to outsmart him. It killed him to know that he could be walking out of this building right now as the new WWE World Heavyweight champion if Brock hadn't have jumped up like a spring chicken. He grabbed a beer from the table in the dressing room and headed into the shower, taking some clothes with him from his bag. He needed to get out of his gear and get changed.

He emerged a few minutes later and headed out to where everyone had gathered to watch the main event of the night. The Rock's music echoed through the arena and Seth squeezed his fist, crunching the plastic cup he had picked up from one of the tables; his drink spilling all over his hand.

"Dammit!" he whispered under his breath.

His plan had failed, well Sasha had failed. She couldn't work with him just this once. Just once, that was all he was asking for. Instead, it was about what it had always been about; her giving in to temptation. Well, it was too late to doing anything about it now. There was nothing he could do. Roman Reigns was the 2015 Royal Rumble winner and unfortunately it meant he had just secured his one way ticket to WrestleMania.

Grabbing a napkin from the table, Seth wiped all the drink of his hand. As he looked up, he caught the dark eyes that belonged to the woman he wished was with him right now, by his side as she had promised since the moment they had begun dating. Instead she was the other side of the room, her eyes red with what looked to be tears. He gestured with his head to a corner and made his way over, hoping that she was following.

"Great match tonight," Paige wished him in a monotone voice once she reached him.

"Thanks," he replied, although he didn't feel like it was great at all.

Losing at one of the 4 biggest Pay-Per-Views of the year was never something anyone on the roster found great.

An awkward silence passed between them as they stood opposite each other, Seth somehow managed to hold back the urge to pull the Diva opposite him into his arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay, but that wasn't the case at all and they both knew it. It was strange thinking how much had changed between the two of them. The odd thing was that neither of them knew where they were. And neither one of them wanted to ask, they didn't want to put a final stamp/confirmation on anything. Because despite everything that had happened between them, that had drove them apart, they still cared about each other. They still loved each other and they weren't ready to give that up. Not yet.

"E-everyone's talking about the match," Paige smiled, finally breaking the silence.

"Probably saying how stupid I was or how I don't deserve to be in the match."

"Quite the opposite actually, everyone was saying how great you did and how, if it wasn't for Brock, the match was yours."

Seth huffed and smirked. He nodded in thanks and reached across to run his hand across Paige's cheek.

"Seth…" she said softly taking a small step away from him.

"I know, I know," he said, defeated as he dropped his hand down to his side, "You don't trust me anymore."

"It's not that," Paige replied, shaking her head, "It's just that…that…"

"That I'm not the man you thought I was," he finished disappearing down the hall.

The Anti-Diva didn't respond and she didn't need to. Seth could tell that's what it was. In her eyes, she didn't know who he was anymore. The Seth Rollins she had been with wasn't the one she was looking at now. It wasn't the same Seth Rollins she had fallen in love with. Had kissed or held close or let her guard down with. Whoever he was, it wasn't him. Not anymore. Before Paige could even call out his name, the sound of the steel chairs being knocked over.

The two turned to see Charlotte in a grapple with none other than Sasha Banks.

Paige shook her head and smiled, unsurprised by what was happening right now. Sasha always had a short fuse. It seemed to be getting even shorter with each day that passed. In between the two women was J & J Security, trying their best to break up the bust-up that was waiting to happen. She couldn't help but laugh as she watched Jamie Noble struggling to hold back the blonde NXT Diva. Sasha, not realising who Paige was laughing at launched herself at the Anti-Diva, seizing her dark locks and throwing her into the cleaner's closet and locking the door.

* * *

><p>There was something about sitting on a rooftop in the night air that relaxed Seth. It seemed to put him at ease. Maybe it was because of the peaceful quiet that he was always greeted with whenever he did so. He didn't need to talk, or even think. In a way, it was his own personal getaway, and he loved that. It was harder during the days they didn't get much personal time. Sometimes he began to crave it; it was like a release for him. A means of getting out into the open in a way that he couldn't be done in any other form. Counsellors were no use. He didn't see the point of them. He knew what was wrong with him, what was troubling him, he didn't need some qualified tosser telling him to "figure it out" or "really think about what is troubling you" because he knew.<p>

Sometimes he just liked to sit up here and watched those who walked in and out of the buildings, see what they had been up to, who they were with. Why, he wasn't exactly sure but he still liked it nonetheless. A cool breeze blew past him and he felt something…or someone one. He turned his head slightly to see Sasha standing behind him.

"I didn't expect to see you here," he stated, annoyed that someone had felt the need to bother him whilst he was up here, "What do you want Sasha?"

"I need to know something," Sasha replied, her answer immediately putting Seth on edge.

Seth sighed and closed his eyes. He knew was coming. To be honest, he was surprised she hadn't come to him sooner. Why she hadn't done this when he first came out with Paige, although it was probably because she was too caught up with Roman. He closed his eyes and his grip on the stone wall, tightened as he quickly formed a reply.

"Who's set you off this time?" he joked, knowing full-well that was only going to add fuel to her fire.

"You're seriously asking me who? When you're the god damn reason I can't think straight anymore?"

"_Is she serious? I'm the reason you can't think straight anymore. Honey, you'd know if I was. The reason you can't think straight is because you can't decide whether you want to be more than just his occasional fuck buddy."_

Seth finally turned and held his hands up in defence.

"Relax Sash-"

"No!" she interrupted, "You do not get to use that name with me, you know who the fuck I am!"

He did. Or at least, he thought he did. Just like Paige had seen a different Seth Rollins, he had seen a different Sasha Banks. Right now all he wanted was to be left to his thoughts. To figure out his next move, where best to go from here. What to do next. He didn't need this right now, Sasha tugging at his inner heart strings, taking him to back to a place he thought he had closed up a long time ago.

"What the hell do you want me to say?" he snapped.

"I just want the truth, Seth," she replied almost instantly, taking a breath, "What….what happened? We were okay, weren't we?"

And there it was the question he had been waiting for her to ask from the second she had stepped out onto the roof. A question he thought he would never have to answer for as long as he lived, and now that time had come.

"_Fuck it," _he told himself, _"There's no getting away from this."_

"We were…."he admitted.

He didn't see the point in lying or trying to avoid the question. He had been doing that from the day they broke up. There was no more hiding anymore. He couldn't do it anymore.

"Then why are we here now? What changed?"

"_Me. I did."_

But instead he said:

"You know the answer to that, I did, and I had too because I had no one that understood my intentions."

And it was true, as much as it pained him to say it, he didn't. Not until he met Paige.

"You had me," she replied, her voice had broken and Seth slid his hands into his pockets to stop himself from pulling her into those hugs she used to love so much. They were past all that; the hugs, the kisses and the sex. All of it, it was over, "I had you every step of the way."

Seth couldn't lie, she did. She was with him right from the very beginning but in the end it wasn't…she just…

"Not good enough right?" Sasha finished, "and now here I am looking like an idiot again."

Seth frowned. What else was she expecting him to say? Everything he was telling her was the truth and nothing but. What she took from that was up to her, all Seth could do now was be honest, with Sasha and himself.

"No, you were just fine," he told her, "I needed a way to distract you from the dark path I'd chosen and obviously that didn't pan out the way I'd hoped for. Things happened, people got involved."

It hurt him to say that, but he knew that it was time she heard it. Time she understood why he had pushed her away so much. Sasha was the one good thing in his life. The light in his darkness and he couldn't ruin that; ruin her in the same way he was ruining himself. He didn't want that for her. He _**never**_ wanted that for her.

"So you just gave up on us…not even a thought to talk it out with me and maybe things would be different right now."

"Maybe, maybe not, but I never gave up on us on you. I didn't want you going down the path I was because there's no coming back from it, Sasha. That's why. You're right, things could be different, and they could be exactly how I wanted them to be with you."

The NXT Diva stood still for a moment, taking in all that had been said between them and sighed.

"I guess I'll never know."

Sasha turned and began to head back inside but Seth grabbed her arm.

"Wait," he said softly as he pulled her into his chest, enclosing her in one of his famous hugs.

He held her in the same way he did back then, and it suddenly it felt as though they had travelled back to the days when everything was fine. When it was just about the wrestling and the two of them. None of this conspiring with the "bad guys" or backstabbing brothers in the back, getting jealous because they were sleeping with different people. It was just them and nothing or no one else. Seth had this look on his face as though it were yesterday, even though on the inside his heart felt as though it was dying all over again.

"There will always be a part of me that will love you, Mercedes. Despite everything that's happened between us and where we are now, I want you to know – that's the damn truth."

Sasha couldn't even utter a single word in reply but she didn't get the chance because Seth crashed his lips onto hers. A flood of emotions mixed between the two of them as the kiss deepened. This was the last time their lips, their hands, and their bodies would ever be in this close proximity. This was never going to happen again. And so even though it felt so wrong, it felt so right at the same time. And for good reason. They broke apart, gazing into the others eyes as breeze blew through Sasha's hair. Sasha's scarf flew from her neck and Seth grabbed holding it out for her to take. Sasha grabbed hold of the scarf but Seth held on to it for a few seconds before finally letting go and with it finally closing a chapter of his life for good. He watched as Sasha began to turn towards the door for a second time only to look back at him.

"Seth, there's one more thing…I wanted to let you know as well."

Seth waited and gently took hold of her hand. The air felt good as though it had heard the conversation between them. Seth could see the glisten in her eyes from the tears disappear and he felt her hand go rigid. And just like that she had closed that chapter he had closed only seconds ago.

"This love story is only ending, because I say it's over," Sasha told him through gritted teeth, her eyes ablaze with fury.

Seth frowned but before he could say anything, he was greeted with the cold sharp steel of a dagger in his gut. He couldn't even let out a sound as she pulled the dagger from his stomach and headed towards the door; the last thing he remembered was her fiery hair glistening in the moonlight.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So there we have it. 15 all done and dusted. I do hope you enjoyed that. Please don't forget to leave a review and add to your favourites. <strong>

**For more of the Seven Deadly Sins series, don't forget to read:**

**"Envy" by MellyxBrooks**

**"Pride" by RonTheRonin**

**"Temptation" by EloquentAngel90**

**See you next chapter, the last of this story! **

**XxPikaSixJoyxX**


	16. Home Truths

**AN: So here we are, the last chapter. I never thought I'd ever finish this story and I have to say it's been a complete joy to write. **

**My aim with this story was to provide a side to Seth that showed why he did what he did and the man behind the man we see on tv and I hope I've achieved that.**

**Quick shout out to RonTheRon for ghost writing as The Rock. Well, I say ghost writing Rocky's practically his alter ego. Thanks Ronnie! XD**

**Well, without no further ado, here's chapter 16!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 16<strong>

**Bathroom - January 25****th**** – Philadelphia**

Paige burst into the bathroom and fell onto her knees by the toilet, lifting up the seat just in the nick of time as another round of bile ejected from her mouth. Tucking her dark lock behind her ear, she went to cough only for another round of vomit ejection to being.

"Here," came the voice of the man whose floor she was now slouched upon.

Paige slowly raised her head to see Drew Galloway standing beside her with a glass of water in his hand. He handed her the ice cold glass and sidestepped behind her, pulling back the rest of her away from her face as she puked for the second time.

"S-Sorry," the Anti-Diva managed to spit out in between another round of vomit.

"It's fine," Drew smiled, "I've seen worse."

Paige frowned and looked back at him.

"Oh yeah?"

"Hmm," he nodded, "Maybe I'll tell you when you've finished changing the colour of my toilet water."

Smiling Paige chuckled and took a sip from the glass, gargled it, spitting the contents into the toilet.

"There's some clothes on the towel rack, I'll leave you to get changed and do whatever it is you need to do," he said, heading out of the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

The young Brit emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later and where he had left her to get changed into spare clothes he had lent her. She found him sitting in the living room with the TV on some random channel he wasn't even watching. She trudged across the room and slumped down in a chair opposite him.

"How you feeling?" he asked.

Paige groaned and buried her head in her hands, trying not to think about what she had just seen.

* * *

><p>"<em>Seth?" Paige called as she burst through the door that brought her to the roof. <em>

_She headed over towards the edge and frowned as she spotted a pool of dark liquid all over the floor. _

"_Is that blood?" _

_As she bent down to get a closer look she heard a muffled sound of something coming from inside the staircase._

"_Seth?" she called as she headed down the stairs, two at a time, "Where the fuck are you? Seth?"_

"_P-Paige," he called as he held his side, blood pouring out of his side as he sat slumped against the wall to the 11th floor. _

_Paige gasped as she came down the last few steps and her eyes came upon the bloodied wrestler. _

"_What the fuck happened to you? Who did this?" she asked as she pulled him to his feet. _

"_Ow! Careful," Seth warned as he struggled to deal with the pain as they made their way down the steps. _

"_We need to get you to the hospital."_

"_No, I...I can't."_

"_Seth, listen to me, you __**need**_ _to see a doctor or else you're going to bleed ou-"_

"_No doctor dammit!" he snapped, "I'll be fine."_

_Rolling her eyes, the Anti-Diva continued on their descending journey and through the door that brought them to the 6th floor. Paige checked to see if the hall was clear and they headed down the hall to Seth's door. _

"_Inside jacket pocket," Seth told her, already one step ahead. _

_Paige leant across his chest and inhaled a strong sticky smell of fresh blood. She bit her bottom lip in an attempt not to puke. She fumbled inside his pocket only to come up empty handed. Instead of looking for it, she decided to go a little hard-core and kick down the door. _

"_Whoa, a little unnecessary don't you think?" Seth smirked. _

"_Shut up, you'd have done the same," she smiled. _

_Seth nodded as Paige helped him into his hotel room and into the bathroom, helping him into the shower. _

"_First aid kit?" _

_Seth closed his eyes and sighed, trying not to think about the blistering pain in his gut. He could feel himself beginning to feel dizzy and he started taking deep breaths. He had had serious injuries before but this was different. It felt as though his skin had been ripped apart. As though someone was twisting his gut from the inside and slowly turning his inside with each minute that passed. _

_Paige emerged a few seconds later, small green box and half a ripped bed sheet in hand. _

"_First you kick down my door and now you're ripping my bed sheets? Is your hate for me really that bad?" _

_The young Brit slapped Seth on his leg and pushed the sheet under his hand, to which he intertwined their fingers causing her to look at him. He held her gaze and she frozen just looking back at him. He thought about saying something, but he knew it wouldn't make any difference. He released her hand and closed his eyes as she returned to patching him up. _

_By the time she was done, Seth was already zoned out. She helped to take some tablets she had found in the box before lifting him from the floor in the bathroom and placing him on the bed. One phone call later, a doctor was on his way. Paige sat down and looked at the sleeping man in front of her. A part of her wanted to stay with him, to place her head on his chest and hear his heartbeat. It always seemed to sooth her whenever she was stressed. But she knew that was something she wasn't even going to be able to do again. She couldn't. They were too far gone now. Sighing, she reached for a strand of hair that was stuck to his cheek and moved them from his face. _

"_I could never hate you," she said softly, as she stood up and left him, unaware that there was a small smile flashing across his face. _

* * *

><p>The one thing that Paige never enjoyed whenever she threw up was how incredibly empty her stomach had become. All she wanted to do right now was just stuff her face, but now was definitely not the right time to be thinking about food.<p>

Drew shuffled forward and put a comforting hand on the Diva's thigh, a look of concern flashed across his face.

"How are you?"

"_Honestly, I don't know." _

The Anti-Diva couldn't reply. She wasn't in the right state of mind to be expressing how she felt at the present moment. Her life wasn't exactly in the greatest of places either. She sighed and slowly raised her head to look at the Scottish wrestler sitting on her left.

"That bad huh?"

"You have no idea."

A silence passed between them as Drew waited for the Diva to elaborate on her plan but the young Brit gave him nothing. Instead she just stood up and began to pace back and forth. Her mind was flying at three times the pace as she tried to figure out what her next move was. It was safe to say that the past 7 months of her life had been completely turned upside down. All her mind could think about was Seth, and what he was doing right now.

"_I don't know who he is anymore," _Paige told herself, "_I don't know who I am anymore."_

How could she? She was falling down the same dark path that Seth had gone down and she couldn't afford that right now. It was changing her just like it was changing him. At first she was able to stand beside him, but now?

Now wasn't the same as things had been few months ago. And they were never going to be. Maybe it was about time Paige realised that. If she was working a normal 9-5 job then she could have asked for some annual leave and disappeared off the map for a couple of days. But in a company that travelled around 300 days of the year, asking for annual leave was just...well it wasn't possible. So she was stuck, for now, at least.

"Yo Miss Space Out," Drew called from the sofa as he poured himself a drink, "Thought you might want one of these?"

Paige turned to see Drew holding a glass of what looked to be Whiskey. She grabbed the bottle from him, took a few swigs before handing him the bottle and heading for the door.

"Hey, hey, hey," Drew exclaimed, jumping up from the sofa and closing the door, "Come on, sit down a second."

He took her hand and pulled her back to the sofa, securing the lid on bottle in case the Diva took another swig, not realising that she had picked up his glass.

"Talk to me, Paige, what's going on with you?"

Paige looked into the eyes of the former intercontinental champion and almost went to blurt out everything that had happened to her but she stopped herself. Now, wasn't the time to involve someone else she was close to.

"Let's just say that I'm in a very sticky situation and I feel...I feel as though I'm falling into quicksand with no way out. How about that?"

"Uh...wasn't what I was expecting, but okay I'll roll with it," Drew replied, smiling a little.

Paige looked into deep blue eyes of the Scotsman and found herself slowly starting to lose herself. There was something about him that she couldn't help but be drawn to.

"I would tell you but I just...I just can't okay. I don't even know what's going on with myself right now let alone all this shit I'm involved in."

"It's nothing serious, is it?" Drew asked, slightly alarmed.

Paige quickly shook her head.

"No, it's nothing I can't handle. I just need to grab hold of something first."

Drew nodded, understanding exactly where the young Diva was coming from. He had sure had been in her situation quite a few times over the years. He knew better than most that whatever it was that was troubling her was stuff she could easily deal with.

"Well, you know you can stay here as long as you want."

Paige gave a light smile, finished the glass in her hand in one large gulp and stood up.

"Thanks, but I need to get my head in the game first. Maybe once I'm free of all this drama malarkey?"

Drew nodded and stood up to see the Diva out.

"Sit down, I'll see myself out," she smiled and headed out of the door, closing it behind her.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Triple H's Mansion – February 20<strong>**th**** – Greenwich, Connecticut**

Seth was pacing back and forth across the oak floor, trying not let his anger overtake his thought process right now. He was beginning to get annoyed with the way things had been. It had been 3 weeks since he had been stabbed and Paige found him, but Triple H had forbid him from leaving his house until the night of Fastlane, with the exception of Raw and Smackdown. In other words the Davenport native was under house arrest in a house that wasn't his own. Seth had even sworn not to text anyone so he couldn't even call the Anti-Diva to find out how she was.

"_Great. I bet she thinks I'm just a selfish dickhead," _Seth told himself, _"If she doesn't already think that already."_

The one good thing about being cooped up in the COO's house was that he had more control over what he was going to be doing over the next few weeks in the build-up the grandest stage of them all. Hunter had decided to include him in the meetings and even allowed Seth to plan a few ideas. It was clear to everyone in that room that the COO held Seth in quite high regard. He did care about the upcoming main eventer and was determined to make him a success, but at the same time it meant that he was becoming more protective about him, hence the house arrest.

Seth sighed and waited for the time to just tick by until he was finally able to have complete control over his life again. He felt like a kid who had just been grounded. He had things to sort out, people to make pay for what they had done to him. Sasha stabbing him was...well, it was unexpected and he had never been so angry in his life. If she had beaten him with a pipe or a kendo stick he would have understood but a knife? Sure, he knew that Sasha had a screw that had come loose since this had started, but he didn't realise just how loose until that night.

He sat down on the bed and pulled out his phone and looked at his call log. The last two being the doctor's number in his phone that Paige had called and the Anti-Diva's phone number. He ran his hand over the call button and closed his eyes.

* * *

><p>"<em>Hello?"<em>

"_Paige…"_

"_Seth, why are you calling me? I thought we agreed tha-"_

"_Help," he interrupted. _

"_Seth?" Paige replied, concerned, "Seth, what's happened?"_

"_H-Help…" was all he could manage to say. _

"_What's happened?"_

"_B….blood."_

"_Blood?!" the young Brit shrieked, the panic beginning to set in, "Okay, I'm coming. Where are you?"_

"_I'm on…I'm on…the roof."_

_Paige took a deep breath and sighed, her voice beginning to shake as the fear began to take hold. _

"_Seth, listen to me, just…just hold on okay? I'm coming. I'm comin-"_

"_Paige, wait…."_

"_Yes?"_

"_I love you," Seth stated only to hear nothing but silence. _

_The young Brit felt her stomach empty and she tried to hold back the tears. The defeat was as clear as day in his voice. _

"_I love you too," she replied, hanging up. _

_Seth felt himself begin to drift in and out of consciousness; he had never felt so weak before in his life. The injuries he had sustained in his career were more bearable than this. He wasn't even sure he was going to make it, but at least he had told the love of his life that his heart belonged to her. _

* * *

><p>He was brought back to reality by the sound of someone knocking on the door to his room. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Seth crossed the room and opened the door to reveal the doctor standing in the hallway.<p>

"Mr Rollins, how are we today?"

"Just great," Seth replied sarcastically, stepping aside to let the doctor in, "Let me guess; Hunter's sent you for my check-up."

"Actually, I think you'll find it was Mrs McMahon-Helmsley. She just wants to make sure you're absolutely condition before the Pay-Per-View this weekend."

"_Typical,"_ Seth told himself, rolling his eyes.

Twenty minutes later, the doctor packed up and left and Seth was back to being alone again. All he could do now was just wait. Wait and see what was next for him. He was ready for this Pay-Per-View, his six man tag against 3 newly re-instated employees, who thought they were clever enough to side with John Cena at Survivor Series, would be a walk in the park. No, the real battle, the real match he had been waiting for was Roman Reigns. The man who he couldn't wait to literally beat to death. He wanted to send a warning not only to the Samoan Thor but the bitch who felt so inclined to stab him 2 weeks ago, despite him admitting things he thought he would never have to bring up for as long as he lived. He wanted her to know that he was going to pay her back, and what better way to do that to take down the man that she couldn't seem to keep her pants up from.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Fastlane – February 22<strong>**nd****- Memphis**

Paige let out a howling shriek and swiped all the food on the catering table onto the floor with one fell swoop. She couldn't believe it. How in the world had Nikki not been caught? The dirty pull-on-tights trick. To say she was angry right now was an understatement. She wanted to rip every strand of the Bella's hair out of their heads. She let out another shriek and kicked a plastic chair, breaking one of the legs.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Rosa said as she entered catering, "You have a rematch, it'll be o-"

"That fucking bitch knew what she was doing, Rosa!" Paige shrieked, "I swear I'm gonna kill her!"

Rosa pulled up another chair and helped Paige into it, pouring her a glass of water.

"It was a dirty move, Paige, she kn-"

"I don't care about that fucking roll-up! She was flirting with Seth before the match!"

* * *

><p>"<em>You know Seth, I think you'd look a lot better with your hair up," Nikki smiled, as she rested her hand on his chest. <em>

"_Uh…thanks?" Seth frowned, slightly uncomfortable. _

_Nikki could see Paige across the room, adjusting her ring gear and she leaned towards The Architect, blocking Seth's view. _

"_Well, why don't you show me this CrossFit routine of yours? I think I'd be an excellent learner. I pick up things pretty fast."_

_The flirting was bad, really bad and they both knew it, but while Seth had no clue what Nikki's game was, the Diva's champion on the other hand knew that her plan was working perfectly. She could see the fire in Paige's eyes and she couldn't help but smile as she flicked her hair and turned back to the Money in the Bank holder._

"_It's not really a routine, Nikki," Seth told her as he put his hands on her hips so he could squeeze past, "It's a fitness regime. I don't know if you'd like it, it's a pretty intense workout."_

"_Well, I can be pretty intense," Nikki whispered into his ear before walking off. _

* * *

><p>"Oh…" was all Rosa could say.<p>

Paige gulped down the water and threw cup towards the bin behind her, not caring whether she missed. She had told herself that the flirting was harmless, and it was. It wasn't Seth's fault. He had no idea, but she still let it bother her. After all, they weren't together anymore, were they? She had no idea. All she knew is that it put her off her game.

"How could I have been so damn stupid?" Paige exclaimed, slamming her fist on the table which made Rosa jump.

"Because that's just who you are," Nikki smiled as she walked past, "A stupid idiot who can't get the job done. No wonder he left you."

Paige jumped up and leapt across the table, reaching for Nikki's hair but Rosa and had grabbed hold of her and pulled her back.

"You better hold onto that belt for dear life because I'm coming for it and I'm going to kick your arse!" Paige growled.

Nikki shook her head and laughed along with Brie as Paige was pushed back into her chair.

"That's what AJ said and look what happened to her."

* * *

><p><span><strong>WrestleMania 31 – March 29<strong>**th**** – Santa Clara, CA**

Seth followed Triple H into his office and leant back against the door, finally able to take a breath and take what had just happened. He was holding the belt as close to his chest, and trying to regain his composure. He couldn't believe it. He was the WWE World Heavyweight champion. He was the man. For a split second he thought he was going to win, he thought he was going to join Cena and Sandow as the two who had failed in the entire history of the briefcase, but the announcement of him officially cashing in washed away all his doubts. Seth could see Roman was battered and bruised and he knew it was just going to make this all the more worthwhile. He watched and waited for what seemed like forever as Roman slowly lifted himself off the mat into the perfect position. That Curbstomp had have been the best Curbstomp he had ever hit in his entire career. The feeling that flowed through his veins as he was handed the title couldn't be put into words. It just couldn't.

As he sat in the office of the COO, Stephanie celebrating like no tomorrow, he couldn't help but feel as though something was missing. Or someone. He frowned as he thought about how much time he had spent with Paige this past year. It was crazy to see how their relationship had changed and how fast. He knew he had messed up. Big time, but he hoped that someday she would be able to see why he did what he did. Why he never told her.

"Seth?" Joey said tapping his client, "You okay buddy?"

"Hey, do me a favour," Seth asked as he stood up and headed towards the door.

"Wait…where are you going?" Jamie asked.

"Just tell them I'll be back, okay?" Seth told them heading out into the corridor without giving the two security guards time to reply.

* * *

><p>"Hey, AJ?" Paige called as the New Jersey native headed for the door.<p>

"Hmm?" AJ smiled as she turned to face the Anti-Diva.

The two had just defeated the Bella's on the grandest stage of them all and Paige had to admit she felt pretty good. Her first WrestleMania and she felt like she was on top of the world. The atmosphere was amazing out there, it was surreal and one of the reason she had become a wrestler. It was crazy. Crazy but good. Now, here she was, standing in the same room with a woman she had been battling against for the Diva's title a few months previous.

AJ had come to Paige's rescue when Raw was in Newark, a few weeks ago and since then things had changed between the two. Paige realised that the only person who she could stand with to take out the Bella twins was AJ, the only other Diva who truly understood her. Sure, she had Rosa, but Rosa was different. AJ knew what it was like to be the outsider, the one who had been through so much shit and still cope. Sure, these two had come to blows in the past but now here they were, standing in the same room as friends; allies. Paige held out her hand for the Geek Goddess to take and AJ smiled, shaking her hand.

"You're not as crazy as people make you out to be, you know?" Paige smiled.

"Oh, trust me; you're only saying that because you haven't been on the full brunt of it."

Paige turned to her back to finish packing her gear as AJ headed for the door.

"See you around?" Paige asked to which AJ nodded and disappeared down the corridor.

The young Diva zipped up her bag and quickly got changed into a pair of black high-waist jeans and a white crop top with a purple pair of Doc Martins, of course. She pulled her hair over one shoulder and put on a dark red beanie. As she adjusted her hat in the mirror she looked up to see Seth standing in the mirror. She gasped and turned to face him, confused as to why he was there.

"Seth, what are yo-"

The Architect silenced the Anti-Diva with a passionate kiss. Her silent protests quickly turned into soft moans as Seth slid his tongue into her mouth. Her hands slid into his messy two-toned hair. It suddenly felt like they were back together and nothing was wrong. But yet, there was. So much had happened between them now.

"I know there's probably no chance of us ever getting things back to the way they were, and that's okay, but I want you to know this. I love you. I love you, okay. Don't ever doubt that for one second."

Before the Diva could even reply, Seth had already gone, leaving her to think on what had just happened.

* * *

><p><span><strong>WrestleMania Afterparty- Covina Club – March 29<strong>**th**** – California**

Dwayne Johnson, better known as the Rock to the world, straightened out his muscle tee version of his Just Bring It shirt as he stared out to the blazing, raving WrestleMania crowd that stood before him. Some were drunk, much dirty dancing, while others sort of mingled with each other, everyone looking to enjoy the post-show buzz, especially after the big event's conclusions which saw the Architect Seth Rollins finish off his grand master plan, cashing in on Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns and escaping with his first ever WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

The Rock could commend Rollins for being a young guy who saw an opportunity, and took full advantage of it, but the fact that he represented the Authority and even furthermore, pinned his cousin Roman made him burn on the inside even more.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Dwayne said, grabbing a mic and instantly seizing the crowd's attention instantly popped the People's Eyebrow to get a reaction, before putting his serious game face back on. Spotting Seth in the crowd, a scowl formed on the Great One's face, scrunching his fingers.

"I'd like to personally thank you all for coming out here tonight, especially so late after our WrestleMania spectacle. Why don't we give a round of applause for our brand new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins?" Dwayne suggested, and the crowd all turned their attention to the new champion.

Seth, turning around to the crowd to expect a shower of cheers, instantly frowned when boos was rained down upon him as the Rock revelled with a trollish grin. Seth gritted his teeth as the Rock continued. "Our brand new gutless, spineless, pathetic, cowardly, candy ass jabroni of a piss poor fucking champion," the Brahma Bull spat as the crowd 'oohed" at the Architect.

Triple H, who had arrived with Seth and J & J Security, turned to go and say something but Seth beat him to it.

"You know what, say what you want about me Rock, but at the end of the day I'm still the champ, and I did that all of my own accord. So if anything you should be thanking me because if it wasn't for me your little boy, your "Samoan Thor" wouldn't even have that name. I'm the guy at the top now; I won that briefcase fair and square, all on my own. And unlike some I didn't need any help from my family to get to the top. Why don't you smell that?"

Seth turned and walked out of the room, across to where Triple H was standing but then turned back to face The Brahma Bull.

"_Maybe it was about time this so-called legend heard some home truths about his innocent family,"_ Seth smirked as step aside from The Authority and jumped up onto a table.

"You know, why we're at the name calling and the public disgracing why not let's take it up a notch? Ask yourself this, Rock," Seth began, spitting his name, "Where's your amazing-graced-from-the-gods cousin right now? Huh, come on, where do you think he is?"

"Mo-"

"It doesn't matter where you think he is!" Seth interrupted, stealing one of the former champion's most famous catchphrases, "He's probably screwing that two-faced, fucked up deluded bitch ass slut, Sasha Banks, at this very moment and he can have her. At least I have the privilege of knowing I'm not sloppy seconds," Seth said, snatching a bottle of beer from Zack Ryder and taking a swig, "And you know what else doesn't matter? The fact that he needed help from a damn bald ass fucking has-been that decided to take quickest train outta here after Brock Lesnar beat his ass 8 years ago!"

Those who happened to be in the room listening in had gone completely silent. Mouths were wide open, eyes were wide with shock, foreheads were creased with disgust, and the silence was somehow electric. Over in the corner, Triple H was trying not blow a fuse, the anger building in The Game as he listened to Seth continue with his public roast of one of the greatest wrestlers in the business.

"Leave him," Stephanie said, a cold but very satisfied smile flashing across her face, "He can handle it."

"He's going to get himself killed," Hunter snapped.

"Quite the opposite actually. No one's going to want to go near him."

The glisten in her eyes was that of a proud mother watching her child finally break out of his shell and come to life. Hunter sighed and had no choice but to stand beside her and watch the rest of this unfold.

"You look at me and you think I'm some sleazy bastard who shacked up with The Authority. I was their "Plan B" but you know what, Rocky? You can't talk fucking shit to me at all. Because you, the all-seeing god that people think you are, are no different than me. I got 4 numbers and two words for you. 1998 screw job."

"Who in the blue hell do you think you are?" The Rock asked, shoving a few people out of the way as he made his way towards him only to be held back by The Usos.

"I AM THE WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION DUMBASS!" Seth boomed as he held up the title, scaring a few of those around him, "I'm the man! Me! I'm the one at the top now. Not The Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar, not Superman-I-kick-out-at-two, John Cena, not the Viper Randy Orton, not that insane motherfucker, Dean Ambrose, and certainly not the man who is probably in some cheap ass fucking hotel room, tearing Sasha to shreds. That's if he even made it out of the car, or even to the car."

Seth jumped down from the table and took another swig of his beer. He was done with people saying he wasn't good enough; it was time he let them know. It was time to shut them all up.

"None of them are standing where I am right now, none of them, and before you all say that I'm drunk or that this is The Authority's bidding I suggest you keep your mouths shut before I fucking send you flying through these $2000 windows. So when you get back into your $4000 dollar bed tonight Rocky, remember this: I'm still gonna be the man, and that cousin of yours is still gonna be screwing a ratchet ass bitch who can't seem to keep her fucking legs closed or her head screwed on."

Jumping down from the table Seth finished his beer, handing the empty bottle to a stunned Zack Ryder.

"Uh…thanks?" Zack replied, still in shock.

He made his way through the crowd headed towards the bar, only for Triple H to grab him by the arm and pull him to the side.

"We'll talk about this in the morning," he said through gritted teeth.

Seth rolled his eyes as the COO walked off and nodded at Stephanie who patted him on the arm as she walked past.

The Architect reached the bar in no time and caught sight of the young Brit who was standing the other side of the room. The short black dress she was wearing clung to her slim frame and extenuated her curves perfectly. The young Brit could feel his eyes on her, and despite hating everything he had just said, she somehow found herself turned on by his recent outburst. She was actually proud of him; he had finally stood up to his haters. Those who were putting him down and for a split second she wished that she had been standing by his side tonight. She still couldn't get the kiss he had given her after he came backstage at the arena tonight out of her head. She had replayed it almost a thousand times since and even now as they held each other's gaze it was on her mind.

She could feel him mentally undressing her, thinking of so many different ways and places he could take her, and, unsurprisingly, she found herself doing the same. Without even thinking, she turned and headed down the hall and out of sight. She could hear his footsteps behind her, following her as she led the way. He knew exactly where she was going and what was about to happen. They both did, but that didn't stop them. Every instinct in her was telling her to stop walking and turn around, but she couldn't. To stop before she woke up tomorrow morning with nothing but regret, but it was too late.

The air outside blew the smell of her perfume down the hall and Seth inhaled, smiling as it reminded him of the last time he had held her in his arms. The door closed behind her as she exited outside into the night. The sound of the door closing echoing through the hall, his heart skipping a beat, but he still carried on. He opened the door to see the Anti-Diva waiting for him, her back pressed against the wall opposite the building in the small alleyway. He strode over to her and took her mouth with a raging kiss. The tongues met within seconds, the black haired beauty reaching his belt buckle, while Seth hitched her dress up so he could gain access to her sex, which was wet with desire. A small gasp fell from her lips as his fingers worked between her folds, already making her tremble in his arms. She bit his shoulder as he continued to work his fingers, bringing her closer to her release. Quickly, Paige fumbled with his belt buckle and managed to unzip his trousers. She wrapped her hand around his member, working back and forth but he grabbed her hand and pressed it against the wall above her head.

Paige bit Seth's bottom lip and pushed her tongue back into his mouth, the two of them joining in a passionate fight. Paige gasped as she felt Seth enter her and her head fell back against the wall. Seth pulled back with his hips and slowly pushed forward again, drawing out another gasp from the Diva. The rough mix of Seth's beard and her hand scrapping against the brick of the wall she was up against sent electric shocks through her body, the hairs on her arms standing up on their ends. The pace Seth was working at told Paige that this wasn't just casual sex in the back of an alleyway, but it wasn't just simple love making either. She knew that she was going to regret this tomorrow morning, but right now she couldn't care. With each thrust he gave, Paige pushed her hips forward to meet him and the two worked fast to reach their release; Paige biting Seth's shoulder again, as she reached her climax. Seth pumped with his hips a few more times and joined her seconds later, their breath in sync as they came down from their release, the smell of sex in the air. Seth rested his head against her shoulder and slid his arm around her waist, touching his forehead to hers as he inhaled her scent. He pulled back and kissed her forehead, his lips lingering a while longer that they should have. But before Paige could even contemplate what had just happened, Seth stepped back, running his hand across her cheek before heading back inside, leaving the Diva alone in the midnight sky.

* * *

><p>"Paige, are you okay?" Rosa asked as the Anti-Diva glided through the club towards the exit.<p>

"Fine," she replied, completely out of it.

Rosa frowned and watched as her friend disappeared through a crowd of people and headed out into the front terrace, handing her ticket to the valet. Her mind had gone blank, and she felt fine. For the first time in a very long while she felt fine. But that was exactly the problem. She wasn't fine. There was no fine. Not after she had just had…well, sex with the man who she wasn't sure if he was still her boyfriend or ex or friend. She had no idea where she stood with him and he with her. Yet, all the same she felt fine. And that worried her more than ever.

"Your car, Madame," the valet smiled, opening the door for her.

Paige nodded in thanks and stepped into her car, driving down the road, watching the lively house disappear in the rear view mirror.

Her mind felt too empty, she had never felt like this before. It was weird. Who have thought that having sex in an alley at a WrestleMania after party would be a mind clearer? But despite how good that sex was, and how good it felt to have Seth's arms around her again she was not fine. Far from it, in fact. Too much had happened to her and she was still no closer to dealing with any of it. The last 7 months had been a rollercoaster. She hadn't realised it but the speed of her car was nearing 90 miles an hour, any faster and she had probably rolled the car. As she rounded the corner, the car veered to the left, and she struggled to bring the car back under control. She slowed the car down to 60 and went to turn another corner only for something to smash into the windscreen and for Paige to let out a scream, quickly slamming on the brakes. She jolted forward, slamming into the steering wheel as the car came to a sudden stop, her hair flying out of place. Her eyes wide with shock, the Anti-Diva sat in the seat, facing the road ahead as she realised what she had just done.

Whatever that was all she knew was that she had hit something and she needed to find out what it was. She took a deep breath, and stepped out of the car, slowly heading around to the back of her car to assess the damage. Her eyes fell upon the crumpled heap and she fell back against her car in shock. Her heartbeat began racing and the panic began to set in. That something that had hit her car was someone. Her gaze was fixated on the crumpled heap beneath her feet, every part of her was screaming to either run or get help but she couldn't move. Her body was frozen and the car she was leaning against was her only source of support. She had no idea what to do; the mere sight of the crumpled body put a serious amount of fear into her head. And all she could say was:

"Oh shit…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And that is the end of Revenge! I do hope you've enjoyed this story. Please don't forget to read the following that are also part of the Seven Deadly Sins Series: <strong>

**"Envy" by MellyxBrooks**

**"Pride" by RonTheRonin**

**"Temptation" by EloquentAngel90**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed and added to your favourites and just followed along with this story. It means a lot to me. I've learned a lot from writing this and I'm excited to write more!**

**Join Seth and Paige in the sequel to Revenge: Welcome to the Future! **

**XxPikaSixJoyxX**


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